Finance courses need rethink
CITY A.M.’s literacy campaign received another boost yesterday as more feedback from readers added weight to the cause.
Several key City firms have been working to build strategies to support entrepreneurs, young investors and women in finance over the past five years. But according to those with inside knowledge of such schemes, the programmes are often targeted solely at ultra-high-net-worth individuals clients, and can be of inconsistent quality.
Instead, the most useful schemes are being run through individual initiatives, without adequate sponsorship. Among these are the Financial JAM sessions, which hire financial advisers and experts to explain business and finance concepts to members of the scheme.
The platform is aimed solely at women at the moment, but its founders have ambitions to extend membership to other groups, and eventually aim to make it available on a mass-market scale.
Killik & Co, which runs Money in Mind, has also identified the hurdles that need to be overcome to launch a successful financial education strategy. First, courses must be accessible to all sectors of society. Second, they must encourage even the most reluctant to be interested in their financial literacy.
And third, they should be practically taught, so that participants can use their new found knowledge effectively.