Teaching the Next Generation about Stocks

An Early Investment

Standing in front of an eighth-grade class at St. Pius V, a Catholic school in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, Hoeg had no idea what to expect.

It was 2008, two decades after he first learned about stocks, and he was a portfolio manager at Citadel. He came to this classroom with a plan to teach students across Chicago about saving, investing, and finance. But would they even be interested?

A friend had introduced him to the idea of serving on the board of the Big Shoulders Fund, founded in 1986 by business and civic leaders in Chicago to support Catholic schools across Chicagoland. The fund invests $40 million each year into scholarships and support for students, development for teachers, and operational improvements for the schools. The aim of Big Shoulders is to prepare students for long-term success.

Hoeg knew no better path to long-term success than investing. Alongside Charlie Bobrinskoy, MBA ’83, Hoeg cofounded the Stock Market Program under the umbrella of Big Shoulders, starting in classrooms across three different schools, including St. Pius V.

In the program, each classroom invests in companies of their choice, using $3,000 donated by the program’s teachers and Big Shoulders board members. At the end of each class, the money is cashed out. Students receive a 2 percent management fee, and the rest of the money is invested back into their schools.  

In that first class, it took less than 30 minutes for Hoeg to see the potential in students. Hoeg asked them to share ideas for possible investments. One said Kellogg’s because their cereal was tasty; another said McDonald’s because their restaurants were fun.

The next idea stopped Hoeg in his tracks: A bicycle company.

When Hoeg asked why, the student said that oil prices were spiking, so more people would probably ride bikes to work to save money. Hoeg loved the idea and the student’s thinking.

“I realized I should never underestimate these kids, that they are extraordinarily bright,” Hoeg says. “It was really fun and invigorating.”

That first class made investments that beat the S&P 500. If they had kept their $3,000 in the market, the portfolio would have grown to be worth $60,000 today, Hoeg says.

In the years since, the Stock Market Program has grown from three classrooms to 66 across Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Just as that first class beat the S&P 500, so too have 80 percent of classes in the program’s history.

And just as Hoeg was drawn to the markets, so too are the students. Classes get competitive, as the top three win reward money for their schools. At the end, students are invited to a yearly capstone meeting with business professionals across Chicago. Winning teams are also invited to the annual Big Shoulders Fund board meeting, where they receive a check and present their portfolio to the board members.

Throughout the process, students love seeing how productive their own ideas can be. “The kids pick the stocks,” Hoeg says. “If they ask questions, we’re allowed to answer them, but the teachers don’t influence them. It’s about teaching them what drives companies and tying it back to profit growth. It’s a basic introduction to capitalism.”

Long-Term Gains

The Booth network has been essential to the growth of the Stock Market Program, Hoeg says. There are currently 18 Booth alumni teaching in the program, and at least three times that many have participated historically.

One such alumnus is John Kelly, MBA ’12, managing partner at HC Private Investments, who was part of the first wave of volunteer teachers. Each year since 2009, he has led the program at Visitation Catholic School in the Englewood neighborhood.

Teaching in the program feels rewarding, Kelly says. When he was growing up, there was nothing similar that he knew of, so he revels in the opportunity to educate students about the market. He often brings professionals from hedge funds, investment banks, and wealth management firms to speak to his students.

“Once they understand what we’re doing is real, they get very excited,” Kelly says. “It’s very interactive.”

Hoeg, also a board director of Big Shoulders, believes that the program can grow even larger with more volunteers and investment.

“Our biggest goal is to help students understand that there are many reasons to invest long term,” Hoeg says. “If they want to buy a house, have an emergency fund, or take vacations, they need to be saving and investing, not socking money away or hiding it underneath the mattress. Demystifying that for even more kids would be wonderful.”

Hoeg hopes that some students will be inspired to try finance as a career path. One alumnus of the Stock Market Program, who was in Hoeg’s classroom six years ago, recently reached out for advice on entering the field. With Hoeg’s guidance, he secured an internship with the firm where Hoeg now works, Alyeska Investment Group.

“He is the first one of my former students to move toward a career in investing,” Hoeg says. “It’d be wonderful for someone to have a similar story as myself, someone who grew up in a family that didn’t talk about investing. But through this program, their eyes opened to a career that they otherwise wouldn’t have known about.”