State Farm Financial Literacy Lab
Academy of Finance students share winning impressions of FIU Business
High school juniors received an overview of what college offers during seminars at FIU
Over 400 high school juniors from the 14 Miami-Dade County Public Schools that operate Academies of Finance visited the College of Business at Florida International University (FIU) in November and December for an up-close look at academic study and the doors it can open.
FIU Business faculty member forecasts Facebook filing at panel discussion.
Helen Simon had a hunch about Facebook.
In her research for a faculty panel held at Florida International University’s (FIU) College of Business, she saw too many signs of hype around the initial public offering (IPO) of the popular social networking site.
“I had a sixth sense that if Facebook flew, it would fly for one day and adjust down to a rational level,” said Simon, a finance faculty member and certified financial planner. She shared her research at the panel presented by FIU Media Relations on May 8th, 10 days prior to Facebook’s debut as a public company.
High School Financial Markets Program
Course given by lab interns
Since the fall semester of 2009, the State Farm Financial Literacy Lab has been working with high school students in the South Florida region in its own self-initiated financial markets training program. These free training courses are held at the Modesto Maidique FIU campus, in the State Farm Financial Literacy Lab - CBC 252.
The course is given by lab interns who are finance majors (or graduate students) with experience in the field. It is aimed at giving students a crash course in the financial markets and investment world, specifically the debt and equity markets.
Northwestern students learn essentials of financial planning at FIU
For five top students from Miami’s Northwestern Senior High School, 2011-2012 was a year to remember.
Marcus Gent, Jasmine McMillan, Rene Maurice, Janis St. Port and Cliffanique Towbridge took an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City, where they were the only high school students to participate in a college investment conference. They toured the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and picked the brains of workers on the exchange floor.
SFFLL Twitter Stream
Our Mission Statement
"The mission of The State Farm Financial Literacy Lab entails promotion of the importance of financial education and the spreading of financial literacy awareness throughout the South Florida community. Recognizing the implications financial literacy has on our economy and society, our lab strives to educate not just FIU students, but students beyond university walls on personal finance. As a research facility dedicated to academic excellence, our lab aims to prepare FIU students for today’s competitive job market – this involves researching innovative ways to effectively integrate contemporary financial strategies with classroom discussion. By merging conceptual basics with a “hands-on” approach, the lab seeks to enhance student learning while encouraging creativity and innovation in financial decision making."
The State Farm Financial Literacy Lab (SFFLL) provides students, faculty, and the South Florida community with unparalleled educational and technological resources relating to finance. By utilizing the most current financial research platforms available, students are given an opportunity to supplement academic theory with the real world analytical tools used by leading financial institutions. The SFFLL plays a major role in allowing students to develop a highly marketable skill set – a skill set required to succeed in the dynamic world of finance.
The SFFLL houses FIU’s Student Management Investment Fund (SMIF), an undergraduate course taught by Dr. Helen Simon, CFP®, where students run and manage an investment fund worth $200,000 (university donor funded). Students also utilize the Lab’s resources to carry out extensive market research and analysis required for completion of the course.
The Lab strives not only to enrich the professional and academic experiences of the FIU community, but also to reach out to students all throughout South Florida and provide invaluable financial insight to those students who might not otherwise find accessible. The SFFLL has opened its doors to middle school and high school students in order to provide a solid foundation of financial knowledge to our community’s future leaders through our State Farm Financial Literacy Program.
Inaugurated in August 2008, the SFFLL is a trading, research, and teaching facility for business disciplines: including finance, accounting, marketing, decision science, and investment management. Part of FIU’s College of Business, a 2,200 square-foot state-of-the-art facility houses extensive financial information resources including advanced audio/visual systems, plasma screen displays, and a real-time ticker with data consisting of fixed income, equities, and foreign exchange markets. Plasma screen monitors broadcast live via Bloomberg and allow lab participants access to real time market news from around the world.
