By Jay Woods, Chief Market Strategist, DriveWealth Institutional
The DriveWealth team recently hosted our partners Base10 and students from CodePath at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to show how exposure to financial education can catapult both personal and professional growth.
Like all days at the NYSE, we kicked things off with the Opening Bell. I’m not going to say it was because of the group, but as a superstitious veteran trader, I noted that the market opened higher and remained up during their visit – so thanks to all involved! We then jumped into the basics – I toured the group around the Floor, while also teaching them about the history of the building, before saying hello to our crew at DriveWealth Institutional’s booth so the group could gain an idea of how we work.
I’ve given many of these tours before, but this group came prepared. They asked great questions about the current environment and were ready to learn! The next stop was my personal highlight. We visited the Commissioner’s Room, where I not only learned about what the students were up to, but also talked to them about the value of internships, how to enhance their experiences, and the importance of networking. As someone who started their career as an intern (not too many years ago), I could relate to their stories and was honored to have had the opportunity to provide insight into their future journeys.
Commenting on his experience, CodePath student Mel Tettah said:
“My experience at the “Tour the Floor” event with DriveWealth and Base10 was even more fascinating than I would have imagined. After attending the event, I felt my financial literacy matured. Some of the most important things I learned during this event were about the culture and strategy of investing. There’s a lot more strategy in it than buying and selling. Study the charts and have an entry plan, have a contingency plan for when things get bad, and have an idea of when you’re ready to take your profits. Thanks to this event, I know now that I don’t have to panic when the market is down. Instead, I should take advantage of the new opportunity I’ve been given.”
I joined DriveWealth so I could use my experiences to provide others with tools needed to develop financial literacy skills. Groups like CodePath and Base10 provide invaluable mentorship and guidance and we were so pleased to be able to participate! Promoting financial education and confidence is part of our mission here at DriveWealth, so being part of these students’ journeys was as rewarding for us as we hope it was for them.
Speaking about the event, Base10 Partner Jamison Hill said:
“At Base10, the essence of our mission is to use venture capital for good and invest in leading technology companies that will help us redirect more capital to minority-serving and minority-founded institutions that can help reduce racial equity gaps. One of the specific ways we do this is through the Advancement Initiative, our growth stage fund that was designed with the goal of closing one of these gaps: the endowment gap. DriveWealth plays a massive role in the infrastructure for some of the world’s leading financial technology companies, especially those that are mobile-first and targeted towards younger, inexperienced investors. I think many of the students walked away feeling more confident about how to develop a personal investing strategy and how to think about uncertainty in markets.”