Port Washington Student Wows Wall Street

When it comes to investing, you might seek advice from Claire Blumberg. A Daly Elementary School fifth grader student, Blumberg placed second in New York – and ninth in the nation – in the SIFMA Foundation’s InvestWrite student essay competition, in the elementary school division.

Each year, SIFMA – that’s short for Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association – sponsors a challenge, where students in grades 4-12 analyze an investment scenario and write an essay offering investment advice. The challenge is the culminating activity of the organizations’ Stock Market Game.

As part of the writing challenge, students consider real-world economic events and trends, conduct research online and develop investment recommendations. It’s a process where students gain the skills to prepare for their own financial future.

In her essay, Blumberg – one of 20,000 essay contestants – recommended General Mills.

“General Mills would be a good long and short term investment based on their past history, their market share in growing food categories, and their plans for more international growth,” Blumberg wrote. Patch has posted Blumberrg’s essay in full.

Blumberg’s Fall 2012 essay was chosen through rigorous judging by thousands of teachers and industry professionals who evaluate students’ analysis of asset allocation, the investment potential of various publicly traded stocks, the students’ overall understanding of the stock market, and the manner in which they express their investment ideas in essay form.

Students “are asked to make sophisticated, thoughtful recommendations that reflect what is expected of college and career-ready students,” said Melanie Mortimer, Executive Director of the SIFMA Foundation.

Blumberg is a serious, conscientious student who also has a great sense of humor and loves writing, according to Irene Virgilio, who teaches the Daly student in the PEP program.  Virgilio has produced other winners in SIFMA programs in the past.

Virgilio and Blumberg were recognized by the SIFMA Foundation at a surprise presentation in front of the students and faculty of John J. Daly Elementary School in Port Washington, NY, on March 18th. The event included a special presentation of the SIFMA Foundation award by Karla Helgans, the assistant director of the National SMG Program.

The Stock Market Game and InvestWrite are offered free of charge to schools on Long Island by the SIFMA Foundation. Learn more