Pennsylvania Schools Square Off to Stump the Stock Market

MALVERN, Pa., Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- For new investors, taking that first walk down Wall Street can be overwhelming. To help empower young people with a better understanding of investing, The Allstate Foundation is partnering with EconomicsPennsylvania for the 3rd Annual Allstate Stock Market Game Challenge. The program will take place from February 8 through April 16, 2010 in elementary, middle and high schools across the Commonwealth.

The program will challenge 500 elementary, middle and high school students from 12 Pennsylvania schools to compete with 12 Allstate insurance agents, financial specialists and employees in an online simulated stock market game. Each team will be given a hypothetical $100,000 in bonds, mutual funds and stocks chosen from the American, New York and NASDAQ markets. Student teams and Allstate agents will manage their portfolios by making trading decisions and entering their trades at the Stock Market Game Worldwide site. Trades are processed every 15 minutes and students can view updated portfolios daily.

"The money may not be real, but students certainly take the challenge seriously," said Heather Barrett, Vice President, EconomicsPennsylvania. "This game teaches a valuable life lesson to kids and adults alike – how to responsibly and actively manage your money."

The Allstate agents, financial specialists and employees will be on hand to mentor the student teams to help guide them through the ABC's of the market. Rankings at the end of the program will be based on a team's total portfolio equity. The rankings, which will be calculated daily, will be viewed as a percentage either above or below the S&P 500 Index, which is comprised of 500 companies in leading industries. Competitors will monitor their progress and execute transactions on the Stock Market Game website.

About The Allstate Foundation

Established in 1952, The Allstate Foundation is an independent, charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL). Allstate and The Allstate Foundation sponsor community initiatives to promote "safe and vital communities"; "tolerance, inclusion, and diversity"; and "economic empowerment." The Allstate Foundation believes in the financial potential of every individual and in helping America's families achieve their American dream. For additional information, visit www.ClickToEmpower.org.

About EconomicsPennsylvania

The mission of EconomicsPennsylvania is to promote and encourage understanding of economic concepts through education. EconomicsPennsylvania's purpose is to help students become entrepreneurial, productive members of the workforce, responsible voting citizens, prudent savers and investors, successful participants in the global economy, knowledgeable consumers, and lifelong decision makers equipped to make effective choices in an ever changing environment. For more information, visit www.economicspa.org.

SOURCE The Allstate Foundation