Investing at school with SharesiesInvesting at school with Sharesies

An overview of this year’s pilot

As part of our purpose to create financial empowerment for everyone, we wanted to learn how Sharesies can be used in schools to educate and support the next generation of investors. 

In 2021, we ran a pilot with over 70 secondary school students across Manurewa High School, Hastings Boys' High School, and Tauranga Girls' College. 

Each student created their own Sharesies account and was gifted money to build their investment portfolio. They had the choice and control to invest in any company or fund available on Sharesies. 

The schools used Sharesies in a variety of classes, including Accounting, Business Studies, and Management & International Business. Over the course of the year, we visited the three schools and shared our Investing 101 presentation. The class from Hastings Boys’ visited the Sharesies team in our Wellington office too.

What did we learn from the pilot?

We interviewed the teachers and students in this year’s pilot to learn more about their experience using Sharesies. Here are some of the key themes: 

Real-life experience

The students were more engaged with learning about investing when they had the opportunity to invest real money, make their own investment decisions, and learn as they go.

“We’re a decile 2 school in a low-income area. For a lot of students, investing is not on their radar. Now it’s become a massive talking point. Other students and teachers are asking about it. Parents have mentioned that it’s sparked conversations about investing at home too.”

— Paula Ferrick, Hastings Boys' High School

Sparked conversations

Investing became a talking point in the wider school community. Students talked to their peers, whānau, and other teachers about money and investing, creating an impact beyond the classroom.

“Teaching dividends, annual reports, companies, we refer back to Sharesies all the time. The conversations we have in class and understanding they have is so much richer.”

— Leigh Summerville, Tauranga Girls’ College

Supported wider learning

Using Sharesies helped to support wider learning in the classroom, including sourcing information about companies for internal assessments, and reinforcing financial concepts (such as supply and demand, dividends, annual reports, etc.).

“It was cool to be able to celebrate students publicly—they were all cheering each other on. We have great conversations, and we’re all learning together.”

— Brendan Lambert, Manurewa High School

Increased investing confidence

The students initially self-reported their investing confidence as a 3/10 (on average); this increased to 7.5/10 by the end of the year. The classroom provided a safe and supportive environment to learn about investing with others.

Unfortunately, we aren't currently supporting Sharesies in Schools—we may revisit the programme again in future. If you have any questions, reach out to us at help@sharesies.co.nz.