IIROC staff help students take steps to lifelong financial success

Renews partnership with Junior Achievement

TORONTO, Nov. 7, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, to highlight Financial Literacy Month in Canada, IIROC staff-volunteers who work in regulatory and support roles for the national regulator are spending the day in classrooms throughout the Greater Toronto Area teaching Junior Achievement's Economics for Success program to Grade 8 students. Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada's (IIROC) Calgary and Vancouver staff are expected to participate in regional programs in early 2014.

The program brings volunteers from the business world into local schools to help students learn the fundamentals of personal finance and, more specifically, the link between education and personal goals. The aim is to help students build the skills and habits they need to make sound financial decisions throughout their lives.

"Volunteers from the business community are key to the program's ability to impart concrete knowledge and help students understand how basic financial concepts fit into their daily lives," said Jane Eisbrenner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Junior Achievement of Central Ontario (JACO). "We are delighted to have IIROC staff share their knowledge and experience in a classroom environment and to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people."

IIROC's participation in the program this year marks the second year of partnership with JACO and other chapters across the country, and is one of many investor education initiatives undertaken by IIROC. "Junior Achievement's Economics for Success program helps ensure young Canadians acquire the knowledge and ability to better manage their finances. Youth-based financial literacy programs help promote responsible and informed financial decision-making," said IIROC president and CEO Susan Wolburgh Jenah.

Financial literacy figured prominently in the Global Investor Education Conference that IIROC hosted earlier this year on behalf of the International Forum for Investor Education and the International Organization of Securities Commissions. More than 150 regulators, policy makers and other stakeholders from Canada and around the world shared best practices and emphasized strategies to build financial skills at all ages, including amongst youth.

To learn more about IIROC's various partnerships with community organizations, visit the web site at www.iiroc.ca.

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IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada. Created in 2008 through the consolidation of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada and Market Regulation Services Inc., IIROC sets high quality regulatory and investment industry standards, protects investors and strengthens market integrity while maintaining efficient and competitive capital markets.

IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities through setting and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of dealer firms and their registered employees and through setting and enforcing market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian equity marketplaces. 

SOURCE: Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) - General News