Dear Stock Market Game Participants:

For basketball fans it was a weekend to remember. The women of UCONN were handed their first championship loss in 11 years by South Carolina. But Saturday night's game between Duke and UNC was one of the greatest match ups in Final Four history. The eighth-seeded Tar Heels not only beat their despised rival, but they also ended famed Coach K's 47-year career. North Carolina took on No. 1 seed, Kansas Monday night in a nail-biter. Meanwhile, the markets are on the rise with all three major indexes in positive territory Monday with Twitter surging on news that Elon Musk recently purchased 9.2% of the company. It makes him the largest shareholder in the company. While he did not disclose the reason for the purchase, many believe Musk plans to take a more active role in how the company is run.

As it's beginning to look a bit more like Spring with the warmer temperatures and more outside activity, many are already prepping for Earth Day celebrations on Friday, April 22nd. This year's theme is so appropriate for Financial Literacy Month - Invest In our Planet™, which focuses on acting (boldly), innovating (broadly) and implementing (equitably).

On a related note, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) has been gaining significant momentum over the past decade and may be a topic of interest for students. For investors, it can mean investing in companies that are considered socially responsible while also generating a healthy return on investment. The goal of SRI is to consider both the investor's financial needs as well as the investment's impact on society. Many SRI groups include three different activities under the socially responsible umbrella - ESG: the environmental, social, and governance practices of an investment that may have a material impact on the performance of that investment. SRI can also be driven by religious and political affiliations as well so there can be a debate on what makes a company responsible or an investment acceptable.

Each year the Ethisphere Institute, a New York City think tank evaluates companies and honors those exhibiting superior achievements in transparency, integrity, ethics and compliance. This year's list includes 136 organizations from 22 different countries. In compiling the list, Ethisphere ran the honorees through its "Ethics Quotient," which offers a quantitative way to assess a company's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized manner. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics.  Those making the grade include well-known companies such as Apple, Best Buy, and 3M along with lesser known companies like Henry Schein, Inc., the world's largest provider of healthcare products and services to office-based dental, animal health, and medical practitioners.

You may have noticed in tour SMG portfolio that you can easily track your socially responsible investments. The Stock Market Game™ has partnered with Newday Impact to identify more than 150 sustainable companies - companies that have been determined to be in alignment with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Newday is an investment management and technology company that researches and reports on ESG themed investing. They work with the largest ESG data providers to identify best practices and standards for responsible investing. The sustainable companies they have chosen for SMG all have high ESG ratings.  You can visit the "Enter a Trade" screen or the Account Status section of your portfolio home page to see if you have invested in any of SMG's sustainable companies.

Have a great week ahead!

Best regards,

Elizabeth Reidel

National Director

SIFMA Foundation

[email protected]