Giving Back: Mark Tibergien Supports Financial Literacy Program in his Hometown

Mark Tibergien is empowering students in his home state of Michigan through a personal finance program he created for his alma mater, Gladstone High School.

Since 2008, more than 500 high school seniors have attended one of the courses he underwrote. The year-long elective class began with 25 students. It has since more than doubled participation levels to 60 to 70 students a year, out of a graduating class of about 100. Students practice financial decision making, investing, and protecting what they have through the use of case studies, games, group activities, and other techniques.

Tibergien said statistics argue strongly for the need to improve financial literacy in the U.S. The average American adult has a net worth of a mere $60,000. Seventy percent of students who graduate from college are in debt, by an average of $37,000. After college, the most common living arrangement is for students to move back in with their parents. And about 35% of Americans have no retirement savings at all, he said.

Tibergien, who is CEO of BNY Mellon's Pershing Advisor Solutions, recently discussed why he created the program, and how it has paid him unexpected dividends.

I heard you're a 'Yooper' - a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. What is it like to live there?

That's right. I grew up in a rural area on the Upper Peninsula. The U.P., as it's known, is secluded and idyllic. I'm from Delta County, right on the north shore of Lake Michigan. The area is heavily forested and was traditionally a lumbering center. Now it's a popular destination for campers, fishers and hunters.

Somehow, I was determined to be a journalist. My very first job was crafting interesting obituary reports and reading them on the radio. After high school, I went to Bay de Noc Community College in the county seat of Escanaba and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. I worked as a financial journalist in Chicago and then got drawn into the investment industry, first in Seattle, Washington. I moved to many places, but I always maintained roots in the U. P.

I was able to prepare myself to seize the opportunities that came my way, but the reality is that opportunities can be very limited for those who remain on the U.P. It is hard to find steady, meaningful work there. Beneath the veneer of rugged beauty, it is a rough place that suffers from generational poverty. Today, the community is plagued by high unemployment and the opioid epidemic.

How did financial literacy become a passion for you?

Over a long career that I have spent consulting with financial services companies, I could see the sharp contrast between the world of wealth management and the place where I grew up. Also, the fact that I started as a financial writer means I've long been interested in how to cut through the complexity of financial topics. My interest in financial literacy flowed naturally from my background.

Charitable giving is important to me, and for years, my wife and I had been spreading resources out among different charities. But it was hard to see the impact, so about a decade ago, we decided we would each find an effort we were passionate about and get closely invested. I recognized that we have a low rate of financial literacy in our nation, and I started thinking about how to address that in a meaningful way.

I was inspired by a financial advisor in Boston who shared with me how he underwrote a personal financial program for his old school in Edina, Minnesota. Creating a similar program for Gladstone High School, my alma mater in Gladstone, Michigan, seemed like a way to make a deep impact. I reached out to an old friend to see if the school might be supportive of a class on personal economics. She tracked down the superintendent and learned there was interest but no funding. So I decided to invest in the cause.

What is the high school program like and what did it take to get it up and running?

Our first step back in 2008 was to develop a curriculum for a one-year elective geared to seniors. We wanted to cover the choices people make every day, such as grocery shopping and buying a car. We also covered savings, taxes, retirement planning and investing. We purchased materials for an initial class of 15 people, operating under the social studies department. Now, more than 50 percent of the senior class participates out of slightly more than 100 seniors.

We wanted the program to be as engaging as possible, so we incorporated some fun elements. The students use games like Jenga and Monopoly to learn financial concepts and participate in a stock market competition. The positive reaction is overwhelming. They want to be in charge of their financial lives.

One key to the program's success has been the commitment the teachers bring to it. We started out at Gladstone High School with a very engaged teacher, but she retired after two years. The superintendent then hired a new social studies and history teacher, Erika Fix. She's a passionate teacher who wants to change the life of kids, but she came to us knowing little about personal finance and economics. She immersed herself in the material and became a real evangelist for financial literacy. She is now teaching two classes at the high school and coaches teachers in other cities on how to conduct similar courses.

How else has your U.P. financial literacy initiative grown?

A couple of years ago, the students themselves came up with the idea of starting a class for their parents and a class for elementary school students. As a result of their brainstorm, we now have a summer camp that has reached about 50 4th and 5th graders over two summers. It's age-appropriate - for example, they learn the difference between wants, needs, and luxuries, and they go on a field trip to a grocery store to learn about comparison shopping. They learn about creating a budget and saving for college. One of the requirements is that a parent has to sit down with a financial advisor to talk through their situation. When kids make it through class, I have their parents open a 529 college savings plan and make the initial contribution

Only 14 states have any level of personal finance education mandate. I'd like to see that expanded, and we're considering ways to spread our program across Michigan. We are working with teachers in other communities to share what we've put together and help them start their own programs. And it's not just Michigan. As a result of talking about our Adopt-A-School program at Pershing conferences, more than 100 financial advisors have expressed interest in undertaking similar efforts in their communities.

What do you get from sponsoring this program?

I firmly believe that when you do well, you have to share what you have. The reaction to what we're doing is quite moving. The kids in the elementary school send me notes, and one little girl sent handmade bracelets for my wife and I as a thank you. Parents say they are learning through their children to make better choices.

I've certainly reflected on my own upbringing. My grandparents had a history of saving, while my parents had a history of spending. I learned early that being in control financially helps you stay in control emotionally.

Generations of poverty repeat themselves for a reason. Somebody has to break that cycle. What impacts your financial well-being isn't how much money you make, but how you make choices about money.