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06/24/2020 08:15 AMThis summer, a free program is asking students interested in the basics of investment strategy to explore the world of finance in a fun and risk-free way while also learning the importance of giving back to the community.
Cliff Mackowiack, a Guilford High School graduate, is teaming up with Guilford-based wealth management company Mainsail Capital Management to offer the program to kids in grades 7 to 10, with students drawing on the knowledge of Mainsail co-founder Rance Hilliers as well as Mackowiack as they build a simulated portfolio over the next few months.
The program will culminate with a donation by Hilliers to charities chosen by the students.
Mackowiak said the program will “leverage technology to ensure we are teaching from a safe distance while accomplishing our goals,” and will run from July 1 to Dec. 1.
The project is part of Mackowiak’s internship with Mainsail, according to Hillier, and has already seen a good number of students both in the area as well as in other towns and states sign up.
“The goals of the project really start with getting kids introduced to the idea of investing,” Hillier said. “Really be able to set and reach financial goals.”
With kids as young as young as 7th grade, the program is meant to be both educational, as well as fun and engaging through the simulation. There will be regular prizes and competitions over the course of the program, according Mackowiack, and it will be students with the highest simulated returns on their investments that will choose the charities at the end.
Because the students are young, Hilliers said that the experience offered in this program is more about exposing kids to basic principles and concepts, giving them a foundation on which they can eventually build more knowledge and skills.
“Looking at everyday products and services that they may use...kids have a lot of affinity and a lot of brand loyalty,” Hilliers said. “They look at their phone and they say, ‘Oh, this is an iPhone—let me do some research on Apple.’ So first and foremost it’s really just getting their minds turning in the area of investing.”
Applying everyday experiences to the financial world is just one small step that Hilliers said he and Mackowiak will hope to guide students on over the course of the program, which will include weekly Zoom meetings.
The charitable donations is also a large part of what Hilliers said he hopes the students learn—that the kind of financial success that can be created through the skills they are learning should be turned back to benefit the community.
For more information, contact Cliff Mackowiak at cliff.mackowiak@reagan.com or 203-980-4903.