Emiko, a fifth-grade student at John J. Daly Elementary School in Port Washington, New York, is planting the seeds for a financially secure future. Her thoughtful, long-term investment plan earned a prestigious 1st in New York and 7th place win nationally in the SIFMA Foundation’s Spring 2025 InvestWrite® competition, the nation’s premier youth financial writing challenge. Chosen from thousands of entries, Emiko’s essay demonstrated a clear understanding of diversification, long-term investing, and risk—core concepts that define smart financial decision- making. Emiko and teacher Karen Raichoudhury were honored by the SIFMA Foundation in a ceremony held on June 20, 2025.
InvestWrite is the capstone to the SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game™, a curriculum-based simulation in which students manage a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and cash. The program has reached more than 23 million students since 1977 and is widely recognized for improving academic achievement in math, economics and personal finance. “We’re thrilled to celebrate Emiko for this outstanding achievement,” said Melanie Mortimer, President of the SIFMA Foundation. “This is a powerful example of how financial education helps young people take control of their futures. By understanding long-term investing, students like Emiko are building not just portfolios, but real financial confidence, know-how and independence.”Each year, InvestWrite challenges students to apply what they’ve learned in the Stock Market Game to a real-world investing scenario. Thousands of financial professionals across the country volunteer to judge the essays, selecting winners who demonstrate depth of knowledge, critical thinking, and a practical vision for financial independence.
Amidst rapid growth of new online investing tools and social media Finfluencers, SIFMA Foundation has stepped up its efforts to provide tools for individuals to understand the fundamentals of risk- managed investing. Offered free of charge at www.stockmarketgame.org, SMG InvestQuest is an online, 30-minute investing simulation that spans five years of real market activity and challenges users to allocate a hypothetical investment portfolio in response to news and industry trend reports.
SMG InvestQuest emphasizes asset allocation, portfolio diversification, and long-term investing. It is available online anytime to individuals, families, and educators who want to try their hand at learning or teaching investing basics.
Additionally, in response to growing demand for families to build their financial savvy and engage in educational summer fun, SIFMA Foundation is launching The Stock Market Game Summer Session. Offered June 30 – August 8, 2025, SMG Summer Session is a free, national investing competition in which family members can challenge each other as individuals or teams. Youth participants are eligible to compete for prizes, receive certificates of completion, and build essential financial skills over the summer. Registration is available at smg.stockmarketgame.org/# “Our summer and digital programs extend these opportunities beyond the classroom and into everyday life,” Mortimer added. “Whether through SMG InvestQuest or our SMG Summer Session, we are creating more pathways for young people and their families to learn, grow, and achieve their financial dreams.”
In the Spring essay writing competition, 4th–12th grade students were asked to reflect on their Stock Market Game portfolios and consider the following questions: “What’s your dream for the future? What did you learn in the Stock Market Game that could help you achieve this dream? If you had $10,000 to invest now, what would you invest in, including at least one of your Stock Market Game investments, to achieve your dream in 10 years?” Students were challenged to explain their investment strategy and recommend a future approach to saving or investing that reflects their understanding of a sound, diversified financial plan.
Winning Essay
My experience in the Stock Market Game was a totally new and interesting experience. I quickly learned the importance of diversifying, which means spreading my money across different types of investments like stocks, mutual funds, and bonds. This way, I could get compound returns the sooner I invested, making my money work harder for me. When I bought stocks, I made sure to check important factors like beta and the 52-week range to see how stable and successful a stock might be. For example, if I bought10 shares of a company and its beta was 0.99, it meant the stock was stable, which made it less risky. I also checked the 52-week range, as if a company’s stock price ranged from $16.9 to $25.77. If the range were too small or the stock wasn’t doing well, I would consider investing in a different company. I also paid attention to news reports to see if the company was growing or facing problems. My dream is to get a scholarship to the University of Michigan to become a doctor. Specifically, I want to be an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in feet and ankles. This would help my community because I know how painful foot injuries can be since I run a lot. I would understand my patients’ pain and be able to relate to them.
To be honest, I know that getting a scholarship to a big university like Michigan might be hard. That’s why I’m hoping some of my investments in the Stock Market Game can help pay for college. Long-term investing could make my dream possible. As of February 28, 2025, my portfolio had $99,955.42 and $4,465.70 in stocks. My partner and I bought 10 shares of Visa Inc. (V) for $3,566.04 and 10 shares of Shopify Inc. (SHOP) for $1,110.87. With Visa Inc., we made $88.30, but with Shopify, we lost $98.94. After talking with my teacher, we saw that Shopify Inc. was doing well according to Yahoo Finance, so my partner and I decided to keep it. From what I learned, I would invest more in credit card companies. For example, Visa Inc. (V) has a beta of 0.95, which shows it has stable stocks. Its 52-week range is $252.70 - $364.00, which is a good investment range. Capital One (COF) has a beta of 1.48, which means it’s riskier, and its stock could go down easily. Its 52-week range is $128.23 - $210.67, which is still decent but not as high as Visa’s. American Express (AXP) has a beta of 1.21, so it’s a bit riskier but still a good choice. Its 52-week range is $214.51 - $326.27, which is similar to Visa’s. In addition to stocks, I would also think about investing in mutual funds and bonds. Mutual funds are a way to invest in a group of different stocks, which makes them a safer choice because they spread out the risk. Bonds are another safer investment because they give a fixed return over time, so they can balance out the risks of stocks. By applying what I’ve learned about the Stock Market Game, I can make better investment choices that will hopefully grow my money over time. I can use that money to help pay for medical school, which will help me become a doctor and achieve my dream. If I keep researching companies and understanding what makes them successful, I’m confident I’ll be able to make my dream come true. In conclusion, I’ve learned how to diversify my investments and use things like stocks, mutual funds, and bonds to make smart choices. By carefully studying each investment, I hope to make enough money to pay for college and medical school so I can become a doctor and help people.
Emiko Hirasawa was honored at a ceremony in June 2025.
Lucia Laguarda (Principal), Emiko Hirasawa, and Karen Raichoudhury (PEP teacher).
