A group of junior achievers are preparing to find out how fortunes are made on Bay Street. Junior Achievement of Nova Scotia and the Investment Dealers Association of Canada are presenting The Investment Strategies Program to four classrooms of grade 10 students in Halifax.

The students are taught the curriculum throughout the month of March are being groomed to play a version of the JA corporate fundraiser, The Stock Market Challenge on March 27.

Before the corporate teams take to the trading floor, over 120 junior achievers from around Halifax will test their savvy by playing a computer-simulated stock market game. Each team will begin the game with a $500,000 “mock” portfolio. Using hand-held technology, they will buy, sell and trade 26 mock stocks. The team with the highest portfolio value at the end of the game wins.

Jane Smith, vice chair, Nova Scotia District Council of the IDA, will be on hand to welcome the students and discuss market awareness, trading strategies and the opportunity for careers in the financial industry. She will also ring the bell to begin trading.

“We are pleased to be able to partner with Junior Achievement in this exciting event,” said David Beazley, IDA Atlantic Regional Director. “Our membership is very interested in working with the young people who will become our colleagues and clients.”