Financial Literacy Insights: Investing In Your Community

Financial Literacy Month stresses the importance of finance throughout our lives, and the lessons learned can be shared throughout our communities. Teaching others about finance is a unique opportunity to give back while helping others become more independent. Throughout April, our colleagues will be providing helpful tips and insights about the role of finance in their lives, and how they are passing on the lessons they have learned to their families and communities. We hope their feedback can assist you when talking to someone in your life about the benefits of understanding the world of finance.

We spoke to Anthony Lee, VP, Investments, about how he is an active participate in his community serving as a Director of the Kappa League Youth Leadership Program where he teaches young men how to manage their finances through school and during their careers. Visit our Financial Literacy page for resources parents and teachers can use when talking to children and young adults about finance.

Why is it important to be financially literate? How have you benefitted from knowing a few things about finance?

Having a clear understanding of the benefits and features of all the different types of investments will allow investors to create a financial plan in order to reach their goals. Once an investor understands how to match their goals to the appropriate investments, the potential of reaching those goal increases significantly.

When did you start to learn about the importance of finance?

I didn’t really understand the importance of finance until I graduated from college. Once I started setting financial goals, I started learning more about the different investment options I had access to. Looking back, it would have been advantageous to have taken a personal finance class while I was in college.

What is the best piece of advice in regard to saving/investing/knowledge that you have received or that you have given?

The most important advice I’ve received about investing is that it’s never too early to start. This should be one of the Golden Rules!

We hear your sons are interested in the family business. What sort of lessons have you taught them along the way?

I’ve been talking to my sons about financial matters since they were in elementary school. We’ve had discussions on taxes, the process of going from a saver to investor, earned versus passive income, and setting financial goals.

Tell us a little bit about the Kappa League Youth Leadership Development Program that you are actively involved with. What lessons do you teach them about financial literacy?

I’m the Director of the San Fernando – Santa Clarita Kappa League Youth Leadership Program. Our goal is to provide our young men the necessary skills and resources to graduate from high school, graduate from college, and become valued members of their communities. Because financial literacy is important to our program, I’ve presented several financial topics like understanding the importance of establishing a savings account, understanding your credit report, the difference between good credit and bad credit, and the importance of investing. Currently I’m in the process of establishing a program to expose these young men to careers in the financial industry.

In regard to financial literacy, what are some of the biggest problems you are looking to help members overcome in your role at Kappa League Youth Leadership Development Program?

Because our program focuses on underserved communities, having access to information and resources has always been a challenge. Fortunately, more financial companies are recognizing the importance of inclusion and diversity which is leading to more underserved communities having access to financial information and potentially financial careers. This is extremely important to me because I feel there are many qualified individuals in these communities who only need access to these opportunities. My mission is to help bring these opportunities to underserved communities because this will lead to more diversity within our industry.

Conclusion

Anthony shared how he has combined his passion for finance and serving in his community as a Director of the Kappa League Youth Leadership Program. He realized how imperative it is to teach the young men in his program the importance of finance and how they can apply the tools they have learned when graduating from school and beginning a career. We strive to recognize and promote the importance of inclusion and diversity at our firm in hopes of providing more opportunities to the communities we serve. What is one way you can help educate members of your community on the importance of finance?

Contributor

Anthony Lee
VP, Investments

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