The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) congratulates Brandes Investment Partners, winner of the 2012 IFIC Investor Education Award.

In presenting the award to Brandes at the Canadian Investment Awards dinner on November 28, IFIC president and CEO Joanne De Laurentiis commented that: “One of the most significant roles our industry performs is providing financial literacy. A more financially literate consumer will have more meaningful conversations with advisors about how to meet financial needs.”

The Brandes Scholarship Program (http://www.brandesscholarship.ca/) was designed to educate young people about the world of investing and to introduce the personality traits that are outlined in the Know-Your-Client form. The Brandes Scholarship Program gives students the opportunity to win one of ten $1,000 scholarships and includes a multiple-choice money personality quiz with an essay-based question.

The other two finalists for this award were Mackenzie Financial Corporation for Retirement U, and Sun Life Financial for Brighter Life.

The winner and finalists were selected by a panel of independent judges, including Gary Rabbior (president, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education), Rudy Luukko (editor, Morningstar Canada), Gail Bebee (personal finance author), Ellen Roseman (business journalist, Toronto Star), Helene Vukovic (associate dean, Faculty of Business, Arts and Design, George Brown College) and Kia Rassekh (IFIC’s manager and senior policy advisor for Quebec).