Background:
Children are entering into an ever more complicated financial world ill-equipped to make educated decisions. How has financial literacy education kept up with the shift to a cashless society where children hardly ever touch a bank note, where the majority of the next generation do not trust institutions such as banks or where cryptocurrency is begging the question of what is “money”?
The answer quite simply is that it hasn’t, and the ramifications are dire for those leaving school without effective financial education as it puts them at high risk of financial abuse, fraud, and debt from an early age.
There could not be a more important time for financial literacy education given the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis as well as the stark statistics of youth indebtedness. Leveraging on his granular interactions with over 20,000 students in the UK and on working with the two largest school districts in the US, Quentin will provide a grassroots perspective of how financial literacy education needs to adapt to all the changes in the new economy as we accelerate towards a cashless society.
A study by the Money and Pensions Service confirmed that money habits and behaviours that will stick with children for life are formed by the age of seven which means that early year interventions are critical. He will provide some helpful tips to parents on how to navigate the evolving landscape and to better empower the next generation in making more informed decisions.
Speaker:
Quentin Nason is a seasoned financial professional whose career in investment banking and asset management spans over thirty years across four continents. While he has been at the forefront of the international capital markets and the development of new financial products, his true passion really lies in the field of education.
As a parent himself, Quentin saw first-hand the lack of financial literacy education in schools. Together with a group of volunteers, he decided to do something about it and created his educational charity City Pay it Forward.
Since 2016, Quentin and his team of fellow volunteers at City Pay it Forward have presented to and worked with over 20,000 students across the country. Working in partnership with Rising Stars, a leading educational publisher, he developed an award-winning Year 6 Teacher’s Manual which was delivered to every primary school in England, all 21,000 free of charge.
In addition to the primary school curricula, the charity organises work experience visits to the offices of corporate partners, enterprise challenges and investment competitions with the winning teams enjoying a visit to a City of London trading floor. City Pay it Forward is an independent, self-funded charity whose singular objective is to make a granular impact in the community.
Quentin, a dual US-UK national, has an MBA from the Wharton Business School and an MA in International Relations from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.