ICIEF Launches New Digital Resources to Foster Investor Education

Washington, DC; November 23, 2020—The Investment Company Institute Education Foundation (ICIEF) today launched new digital resources to help individuals understand the important role of saving and investing in reaching their long-term financial goals. The resources, available on icief.org, include an investing simulation that demonstrates the value of investing for the long term and a digital version of ICIEF’s “Investing Road Trip” exhibit, part of ICIEF’s partnership with Junior Achievement of Greater Washington.

“We are excited to offer these resources in a digital format for students who are learning virtually and for others who would like to gain a deeper understanding of investing,” said ICIEF Vice President Miriam Bridges. “It’s so important for young people to learn firsthand how early and persistent savings can build a nest egg for retirement later.”

“These educational resources provide a fun, accessible way to teach the basics of investing,” said former ICIEF Vice President Tina Kilroy. “The digital Investing Road Trip helps to lay a foundation of knowledge, and the new investing simulation illustrates the value of long-term investing over trying to guess or time the market based on financial market fluctuations.”

In the investing simulation, “Playing the Long Game,” players invest $1,000 in the stocks in the Standard and Poor’s 500 index and must decide whether to stay in the market or sell at various points throughout the exercise. Players who lose some of their investment are shown how much money they would have earned had if they had stayed in the market. The simulation incorporates historical market data to provide a variety of challenges and outcomes for players to navigate.

About the JA Finance Park Experience

ICIEF’s partnership with JA began in 2010 and currently includes the “Investing Road Trip” exhibit and an accompanying scavenger hunt in three Washington, DC, area Finance Park locations. JA’s Finance Park program consists of a curriculum for middle school students concentrated on personal finance education. The program culminates in an experiential learning simulation at Finance Park, where students put their new skills to the test. The program, which will be fully virtual for the 2020–2021 school year, reaches approximately 40,000 middle school students in the Washington, DC, area annually. When locations reopen, the “Playing the Long Game” tool will be available to students at Finance Park’s facility in Montgomery County, MD, followed by the other two locations in Prince George’s County, MD, and Fairfax County, VA. For more on the Finance Park program, please visit JA’s website.