Bay Area Organizations Partner with Trading App Moomoo to Improve Financial Literacy for Teens

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Two Bay Area-based organizations dedicated to enhancing financial literacy among teens, Palo Alto Education Group and LaunchFIT, have partnered with trading app moomoo to launch #Investeen, a campaign aimed at improving financial literacy and equity investment knowledge in adolescents and high school students across the U.S.

The #Investeen campaign will feature a host of engaging educational programs, including livestreamed virtual classes and the 2022 Global Teen Investment Competition (GTIC). The GITC includes a paper trading competition hosted in a specially programmed environment in the moomoo app. The top-ranked regional teams will be invited to create an equity portfolio pitch to a judging panel comprised of investment professionals, finance media veterans and executives from investment firms.

"An adequate financial literacy education will benefit today's youth for a lifetime. This is especially important now, as young investors increasingly enter the financial markets on the heels of the meme stock craze and wider adoption of trading apps," said Carolyn Bao, Vice President at Moomoo Inc. "We have long-admired Palo Alto Education and LaunchFIT's dedication to financial literacy education and are thrilled to partner with them on this important campaign."

In conjunction with the #Investeen campaign, moomoo and Palo Alto Education today released polling data from its survey of 120 teenagers between the ages of 13-18 on their experiences and education surrounding financial literacy and investing.

Investing education from a trustworthy source is especially important at this stage of life, given an overwhelming majority (92%) of adolescents have interest in investing in the stock market—even though more than seven in ten teens (71%) report that they are currently receiving limited education about investing, or none at all. When asked to rate their knowledge of investing in the stock market, most adolescents (69%) claimed to have some basic knowledge only while 13% of participants say they have absolutely no idea.

When asked why they were interested in investing, financial independence was the most common response, with 82% of participants citing it as a motivator. The data also showed that teens are prioritizing future needs, such as paying for college (54%) and building up retirement savings (43%) over short-term luxuries, such as buying a car (25%).

The majority of adolescents say they turn to friends and family (76%) or financial websites (66%) for investment guidance and ideas. Although nearly half of teens (43%) learn about investing through online forums and social media, their trust in influencers' investing guidance is low–with fewer than 13% of surveyed teens responding that they trust influencers for investment recommendations and ideas.

Notably, despite the buzz surrounding cryptocurrency, teens surveyed report that they prefer traditional assets like stocks (73%) and savings accounts (43%) over cryptocurrency (25%) and NFTs (12%).

"It's crucial for teens to begin learning about financial literacy now because they have the power of time on their side," said Joyce Lin, Co-founder of LaunchFIT, a nonprofit created by teens for teens. "The earlier they learn, the more compounding potential their money will have. Unfortunately, many schools do not go into depth on topics such as saving and investing, which is where FIT comes in. We hope to fill the knowledge gap left by schools."

Between now and February 14th, students can register for the GTIC paper trading competition on moomoo's website. Winners will be named and prizes will be awarded in April 2022.

About Palo Alto Education Group

Based in Silicon Valley, Palo Alto Education Group aims to ignite the passion and maximize the potential of each student in finance, investing and AI with social equity, in preparation for global competitiveness. www.thePaEdu.com

About LaunchFIT

LaunchFIT (Financial Intelligence for Teens) is a 501c(3) non-profit organization with the goal to empower teens through spreading financial knowledge, teaching the power of responsible decision making, and financial literacy. www.launchFIT.org

About Moomoo Inc.  

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Moomoo Inc. is a company that offers a commission-free* professional trading app. With advanced research tools, free in-depth market data, and one of the most active online communities, moomoo empowers individual investors to trade like a pro. In the United States, securities are offered by Futu Inc., a licensed broker dealer regulated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Futu Inc is also a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). For more information about moomoo, please visit the company's official website  www.moomoo.com.

*Commission-free trading is available only to U.S. residents trading in the U.S. markets.

SOURCE Palo Alto Education Group