By: Makayla Dilliner
Money. Money is something most want, yet only some understand exactly how it works and keeps the world running. From budgeting to investing, how can students improve their financial literacy in a world where the most used commodity can be a sensitive topic? With a 25-year career at Wells Fargo and a degree in finance, financial advisor, and class of 1990 Kalāheo graduate, Kealiʻi Kiakona shared how students can better prepare for the world of money.
Kiakona caught the finance bug in college. Attending the University of Las Vegas and taking classes in finance fueled his interest in the field. “I was never a good student but when I went to college, I found finance. I knew nothing about it but then when I went to UNLV and took a finance class it really opened my eyes to what's available. What really interested me was just how the money system, how the banking system, how the investment system, all of that, actually how it be to and how I could use that to be better educated with my money,” Kiakona explained.
After getting his degree in finance, Kiakona described the transition to Wells Fargo. “Once I started to learn about the finance industry, I took more finance, economics, and accounting, those things interested me and then it stuck. It was just a natural progression of having the educational background, and really the desire to help people,” he said.
For students who want to pursue a career in finance, Kiakona dispelled a common misconception– it is not all about the money. “The personal connection is more important. There's definitely no instant gratification with clients, you actually have to be personable. It's an ongoing relationship that clients and I have,” he said.
For students wanting to learn about money and how it works, Kiakona made it clear that doing so may be difficult as money can be a sensitive subject. “Don't be afraid to ask parents or grandparents questions about money and investing. While it is a private matter, not knowing anything at all may be a disservice to kids. Questions like, how do I buy a house? What is that process? How do I put money away for my retirement?” Kiakona said.
Because money can be a sensitive topic, Kiakona acknowledged the importance of finance in a public school curriculum. With money already being a private subject, students may struggle to handle their money in the best way possible. “I truly believe it is a big mistake of the education system for high school and we really need to have finance as part of the curriculum. They've done away with classes like home economics and auto shop but continue to make students take classes less used in the real world. Why?” Kiakona was told that Kalaheo does offer a course like this, it’s a semester course called Economics that covers finance and basic economics topics. Students learn about the stock market, mutual funds, bonds, retirement, etc. Students even play an online stock game where every student has $100,000 to invest in the stock market with real-time stock prices.
With students interested in investing, Kiakona explained that it is always best to invest in what you enjoy as it is a long-term journey. “Investing is a life-long endeavor. It's not a quick turnaround. So my advice is to buy things that you like, that you're interested in because it makes it harder for you to sell. Index funds are considered low-risk investments that include a wide range of companies, unlike individual companies like Amazon or Apple.”
“If you have an index or have a mutual fund (a fund with a variety of stocks chosen by an expert), you don't know what they’re invested in. It's just numbers on a piece of paper. But if you buy stocks that you're interested in and stocks that you'd like, and you see them grow and grow over time, it makes it a lot harder to sell. So you become much more financially disciplined. You know, do you have an Amazon account? Do you like Prime? Buy Amazon. Do you watch Netflix? Buy Netflix. Do you like to eat at McDonald's?
Buy McDonald's stock. Do you have an iPhone? Buy Apple stock. Do you shop at Costco? Buy Costco stock,” he explained.
He gave his experience with investing as a young adult in college and acknowledged that advancements in technology enable young investors to be a step ahead. “Mind you, when I was your guy's age, there weren't any of these companies to invest in. We had very limited investment options. In college, I started with $200 and then it was $50 a month into mutual funds. Now you guys have Robin Hood now— at the touch of a finger. Times have changed,” he said.
It is topics like investment and banking that Kiakona delves deep into with clients. While he knows much about these concepts, he reiterated that the best skill is to build a personal connection with clients. “But the skill is to show clients that you'll be there for them for the long term, and you're going to be taking care of them, and being honest with them with whatever they need. And I think that's one of the reasons why I've been able to do this for 25 years.”