Toronto-based Brandes Investment Partners & Co. Monday announced 10 winners that will receive $1,000 each as part of a post-secondary scholarship from the global investment management firm’s Brandes Scholarship Program.
From May 23 to July 20, more than 3,500 young Canadians between the ages of 16 and 22 voluntarily pursued the opportunity to learn lifelong lessons in financial literacy via an online national contest. Each applicant was required to submit a 250-word essay summarizing insights gained from a custom financial profile generated by taking a quiz. The quiz and essay tested the applicants’ fundamental attitudes and behaviours toward money.
The winning applicants were then selected by an independent judging panel of Canadian financial/investment experts: Jeremy Clark, managing director, Clark Hetherington Financial Ltd.; Caroline Hanna, investment advisor, National Bank Financial Wealth Management; Don Macfarlane, senior financial advisor, Assante Wealth Management; and Rod Tyler, financial advisor, Tyler and Associates.
The winners of the inaugural 2012 Brandes Scholarship Program are (in alphabetical order):
- Alec, 18, Nova Scotia
- Daryn, 20, Alberta
- Irina, 18, Ontario
- Jesse, 19, Ontario
- Joanna, 20, Ontario
- Lauren, 18, British Columbia
- Matthew, 17, Ontario
- Olivia, 20, Ontario
- Sharon, 19, Alberta
- Zachary, 17, British Columbia
Carol Lynde, president & COO of Brandes Canada, was pleased with the overwhelming response to the scholarship program: “The entries from Canadian youth are an inspiration for financial learning. Supporting and introducing programs that foster large-scale financial literacy is a priority for Brandes that we are deeply committed to.”
Lynde also announced that the program will be an annual event with next year’s contest opening in the spring of 2013.