Los Angeles, CA – June 20, 2019 – Wedbush Securities, a leading financial services and investment banking firm headquartered in Los Angeles, and Rapunzl Investments, held its inaugural Los Angeles-based stock competition awards at Wedbush’s downtown Los Angeles offices. Spring semester simulated stock competition finalists met with the firm’s top executives and winner awarded a $5,000 scholarship.
In the spring of 2019, Wedbush partnered with Rapunzl on a simulated stock portfolio challenge. 150 students from USC Hybrid High School and Hamilton Technology Academy participated in the challenge through the Rapunzl platform which gamifies the stock market on a free mobile app, offering students a chance to learn by doing. Students simulate $10,000 portfolios and learn by following their peers’ trades in real-time in order to win scholarships, by having the top-performing portfolio.
Competition finalists recently attended a special Lunch & Learn event in their honor at Wedbush’s Los Angeles headquarters, and the competition winner was awarded a $5,000 college scholarship. Co-Presidents Gary Wedbush and Rich Jablonski spoke to the students and provided career and financial advice. Chris Mone, EVP and Head of Wealth Management, Danny Nadalalicea, EVP and CIO, and Kirsten Fraunces, Managing Director and Head of Equities, all met with the students, spoke about their roles, and answered questions.
“We are impressed with the level of student engagement in this educational competition,” stated Rich Jablonski and Gary Wedbush, Co-Presidents of Wedbush Securities. “Providing some of Los Angeles area students the opportunity to better understand how today’s world works, through the lens of finance, is a part of Wedbush’s broader financial literacy initiatives of helping those students in underserved communities living more informed and successful lives.”
Rapunzl co-founder Brian Curcio adds, “The program we created for our Los Angeles students provided an experiential learning opportunity where students simulated stock portfolios and developed tools and understanding to make healthy financial decisions. This education, along with our Wedbush partner is just the beginning and we look forward to expanding the program throughout more of the Los Angeles Unified School District.”
About Wedbush Securities
Since our founding in 1955, Wedbush has been a leader in the financial services industry, providing our clients, both private and institutional, with a wide range of securities brokerage, wealth management, and investment banking services; Headquartered in Los Angeles, California with 100 registered offices and nearly 1,000 colleagues, the firm focuses on client service and financial safety, innovation, and the utilization of advanced technology.