Valley Vista Senior Places First in Financial Essay Contest

Recent Valley Vista High School graduate Ava Stevenson placed first in the state of Arizona in the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Foundation’s Spring 2024 National InvestWrite Competition.  During her senior year Ava took part in The Stock Market Game, a SIFMA Foundation financial education program where students invest a hypothetical $100,000 in an online portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and cash.  During the competition, she and her team developed a diversified investment portfolio aimed at securing long term financial success

After successfully completing The Stock Market Game program, Ava decided to take the next step offered by SIFMA and entered the InvestWrite Competition, which is a written challenge that addresses real-world financial issues and situations.  In their essays, students had to analyze, think critically and problem solve about a long-term saving and investing scenario.  Essays were judged by financial professionals who evaluated the students’ understanding of long-term investing, diversification, the global capital markets, and factors that drive investments as well as their expression of investment ideas in essay form.

Ava’s essay rocketed her to first place, captivating the panel of expert judges with her astute insights into the dynamics of capital markets. In recognition of her accomplishment, Ava and her teacher, Mitchell Pinda, were honored by the SIFMA Foundation during a special ceremony held at Valley Vista.

Ava is currently pursuing a career as a Pharmacy Technician.  As she explains in her award winning essay, she will be using her economic and investment knowledge to create a long-term financial plan to help fund her education.

Winning Essay

Throughout the Stock Market Game, my team and I have invested in dozens of different company stocks, having to analyze fluctuating stock market trends and take the right action to earn the most profit. The most profitable stock that we have invested in thus far is DECK, which is the ticker for the corporation Deckers Brands. In just a few months, this stock has gained us a profit of over $10,500, which can likely be attributed to its improving cash flow, surging profit, and increasing earnings estimate revisions. Since Deckers is an apparel company, and the fashion industry is rapidly growing, this explains why DECK is so successful as of late. Additionally, online shopping has made these products far more accessible and convenient, which leads to an increase in sales. The company also has ownership of other popular brands such as Teva, Hoka One, and UGG. This means that these brands being successful will contribute to DECK’s overall sales and its general growth. Since these brands are continually adapting to new consumer preferences, they can reliably keep sales steady. As the company keeps growing, more investors are inclined to financially support the corporation. Since the company has shown overwhelming success, my group decided that it would be among one of the safest to invest in.

My goal for 2030 is to be able to pay off my student loans for my pharmacy technician schooling. Transportation costs, tuition, books, scrubs, and other equipment that I need for the class will likely cost around $40,000 for one year of schooling. With careful planning, my diversified $25,000 portfolio of stocks, bonds, and/or mutual funds would have about 60% of the overall investments be put into stocks. The stock portion would include about 25% of Deckers, 20% for technological companies like Adobe, and 15% for medical companies like Lilly (Eli) and Co. Adobe has earned around $5,000 in profit during the Stock Market Game, while Lilly (Eli) and Co. has earned us about $8,000 before we sold it for dividends. I would be sure to invest at least 10 shares for each company but invest about 30 shares for DECK because it’s such a profitable company. These are good sectors to invest in because of the growing necessity for these products. Technology is constantly improving to make life easier, and medicine is constantly evolving to make life more comfortable and increase life expectancies. As these advancements are made, the public will contribute more money towards their company to fund and inspire continual improvements in these areas. Therefore, these stocks will continue to find success as the companies prove that they can meet the demands of society. This portfolio is designed to capitalize on DECK Corporation’s powerful performance while also providing a variety of sectors to manage the chances of risk. All of these stocks are recommended to be invested in by websites such as bar charts, meaning that they are highly likely to earn me profit over time. 

Additionally, 30% of my money would be used for bonds, 15% for BND and another 15% for TIP. BND is formally called the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, which allows me to invest at a generally low cost while also having a secure way to expand my portfolio. TIP is the iShares TIPS Bond ETF, which is linked to inflation trends. This means that my investment will be better protected against the effects of inflation, making it an overall safer place to put my money into. This is done by having the interest payments increase alongside inflation increases, meaning that investors will have more profits and less drastic losses in time of high inflation. Using bonds can also be beneficial because they typically provide more liquidity for investors, making the selling and buying of bonds quicker in comparison to stocks. Finally, the last 10% of creating my portfolio would be used for a mutual fund, likely through the Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX). I would choose this option because it is more closely monitored and managed, and also provides opportunities for investing in more diversified stocks. This management makes it far easier and stress-free, since there are skilled portfolio managers to oversee the investment, and mutual funds are most successful when done with knowledgeable managers. By constructing a diversified portfolio such as this one, I will be positioning myself for financial success and achieve my goal of being able to afford my pharmacy technician education.    

About the SIFMA Foundation

The SIFMA Foundation is committed to closing the opportunity gap by fostering greater knowledge of the financial markets for young people of all backgrounds. Drawing on the support and expertise of educators and the financial industry, the Foundation provides financial education to strengthen economic opportunity across communities and increase awareness of the benefits of the global marketplace. 

About InvestWrite

InvestWrite is a culminating activity for Stock Market Game students extending their classroom learning with a written challenge to address real-world financial issues and situations. Students must analyze, think critically and problem solve about a long-term saving and investing scenario. Essays are judged by financial professionals who volunteer their time each year to ensure young people are exposed to the essentials of personal finance early in life. Judges evaluate students’ understanding of long-term investing, diversification, the global capital markets, and factors that drive investments as well as their expression of investment ideas in essay form. 

About the Arizona Council on Economic Education

The Arizona Council on Economic Education (ACEE) is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to improving economic and personal financial literacy in Arizona.  ACEE is the author of Arizona K-12 Economic Education Academic Standards and the only organization in Arizona which: provides teacher professional development in teaching personal finance and economics; has a strong, affiliated academic base with universities and community colleges; and distributes proven independent economic education curriculum resources to schools free of charge.