Studies show that basic financial literacy education can improve credit scores, generate greater employment success, help with debt management, and increase net worth. And financial literacy is essential to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion: financial inequity creates significant wealth gaps for people of different races, genders, and abilities. Women overall earn only 53%-79% of men, with Black and Latina women at the lower end of the scale.¹ For men, Payscale reports a pay gap that ranges to as much as a 10% gap between races.² The cost in stifled opportunities is an additional significant factor. Researchers have found that teaching personal finance from a young age can help shrink both wealth and pay gaps.

April is Financial Literacy Month, and Arnerich Massena is committed to helping bring financial literacy to young students in Oregon. April was first named Financial Literacy Month in 2004; since then, the government, schools, and other organizations have been working hard to raise awareness about the importance of financial literacy and the consequences associated with a lack of understanding of personal finances.

Arnerich Massena is proud to be taking action to generate solutions in financial literacy.

The firm is the inaugural Oregon sponsor of Rock the Street, Wall Street (RTSWS), a non-profit organization that provides financial and investment education to high school girls to spark their interest in finance. Many girls opt out of math at an early age and fail to choose a math-oriented career because they lack role models in the real world. RTSWS provides programming that connects girls with female finance professionals who teach investing and budgeting in a classroom-based setting and provide mentoring opportunities. Reegan Rae, CPWA®, Co-CEO and Managing Principal, and Katherine Fox, CFP®, CAP®, Investment and Philanthropic Advisor, are coordinating a team of Arnerich Massena volunteers who will deliver the RTSWS financial literacy program in person to girls at Portland’s Grant High School starting in the fall of 2022.

Arnerich Massena is also proud to be a sponsor of the Oregon Council on Economic Education, an organization that supports the state’s teachers with materials and education on financial and economic topics. Glen Goland, JD, CFP®, Senior Wealth Advisor and Senior Investment Advisor, will be speaking at the organization’s upcoming annual banquet in May; he has been a previous volunteer, helping to run contests for high school students to build enthusiasm for financial and budget-related topics.

Improving financial literacy for young people will require partnerships with the private sector, and Arnerich Massena is proud to be at the forefront of this effort. We are committed to using our expertise and experience to invest in the next generation of financial professionals and financially literate citizens!

Sources:

¹ “Race and the Pay Gap,” AAUW Research & Data, https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/race-and-the-pay-gap/

² “Racial Wage Gap for Men,” Payscale, https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/racial-wage-gap-for-men/

https://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-literacy-statistics/

https://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-literacy-month/

https://www.councilforeconed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-Survey-of-the-States.pdf

https://nationaltoday.com/financial-literacy-month/#:~:text=Every%20year%20Financial%20Literacy%20Month,the%20U.S.A%20in%20April%202004.

https://rockthestreetwallstreet.com/home/

https://econoregon.org/