Portfolio Basics

45-minute agenda

1. 0–5 min

   Warm-up

   Post: “An ad promises “20% a month, guaranteed.” What questions would you ask before handing over any money?”

   Teacher note: Real investments never guarantee high returns. “Guaranteed” plus “high return” is a classic scam signal.

2. 5–17 min

   Direct instruction

   Present the lesson slides. Make sure students leave with these points:

   • Asset allocation drives most of a portfolio's ups and downs.
   • Rebalancing brings your mix back to target.
   • Target-date funds shift from stocks to bonds over time.
   • Speculating ≠ investing.
   • Guaranteed returns = red flag.

   Use the “See it” slide (Investing vs. speculating) to make the idea visual.

3. 17–22 min

   Worked example

   Walk through “"20% a month, guaranteed"” on the slides. Pause before the result and ask students to predict it.

4. 22–32 min

   Solid, Speculative, or Scam?

   Format: pairs · 10 minutes

   1. Give pairs six pitches: a low-cost index fund; a target-date fund; a friend's “can't lose” crypto coin tip; a stranger promising 5% a week, guaranteed; buying lots of lottery tickets as a plan; a new company's stock you learned about in a video.
   2. Pairs label each: investing, speculating, or likely scam — and circle the red-flag words.
   3. Share and build a class list of red flags.

   What to look for: Investing: index fund, target-date fund. Speculating: the crypto tip and the single new stock (high risk, uncertain). Likely scam: guaranteed 5% a week. Lottery tickets are gambling. Red flags: “guaranteed,” “can't lose,” pressure, secrecy.

5. 32–37 min

   Check for understanding

   Use the question slides — or run them as a Four Corners game. Answers:

   1. What usually drives how much a portfolio swings in value? — B. Its asset allocation — the mix of stocks, bonds, and cash
   2. What would rebalancing do? — C. Shift money from stocks back to bonds to return to 70/30
   3. What's the right conclusion? — C. It's almost certainly a scam — real investments don't guarantee returns
   4. Day trading is a reliable way for beginners to grow money quickly. — False
6. 37–42 min

   Discussion

   • Why do you think investing scams target young people on social media?
   • What's the difference between a risky investment and a scam?
7. 42–45 min

   Exit ticket

   Prompt: Name two differences between investing and speculating.

   Answer: Investing is long-term, diversified, and based on businesses' value; speculating is short-term bets on price moves, often concentrated and riskier.