Tracking the Fordham Investment Index

Chris Tessone / October 20, 2011

Microsoft just reported its quarterly earnings, posting $5.7 billion in profits but disappointing investors, who had hoped for more. News like this naturally excites Wall Street more than it does education wonks. However, much of the wealth that now funds education reform initiatives, from teacher evaluation to charter schools to Common Core standards, was built at companies like Microsoft and Netflix.

We here at Gadfly thought it might be fun to track how some of the companies most associated with education reform are doing. So far I've added five companies to the Fordham Investment Index (or FINNdex): Netflix (associated with digital learning backer Reed Hastings), Wal-Mart Stores (the Walton family), The Gap (the Fisher family, supporters of KIPP and other efforts), Microsoft Corporation (Bill Gates), and KB Home (founded by reformer Eli Broad).

The market has not been kind to the FINNdex year-to-date. Unfortunately, many of education's leading funders come from the technology and real estate sectors, which have had a rough time over the past few years. The chart below shows performance of an equal investment in all five stocks (in blue) versus the S&P 500 (in red):

Let us know in the comments which other stocks associated with education reformers you think we should add. We'll update you on the performance of the FINNdex as its members pop up in the news from time to time.

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