Winner of the Financial Fitness

N.S. SECURITIES COMMISSION--Winner of the Financial Fitness Challenge Contest Announced

Sarah Mattinson of Halifax is this year's winner of the Financial Fitness Challenge, a unique online interactive quiz that ran during April.

The challenge featured questions and facts about budgeting, saving and investing in a format focused on students' experiences. Thirteen entries, one from each province and territory, were randomly selected from eligible participants to win $750.

This year, more than 1,368 contestants participated in the challenge, showing that young Nova Scotians are interested in learning about savings and investments.

"We feel it's extremely important to find ways to encourage Nova Scotia youth to improve their financial literacy," said Chris Pottie, compliance examiner and investor education contact for the Nova Scotia Securities Commission.

"By reaching them now, we believe it will translate into responsible investing behaviour later in life."

Teachers were also invited to use the challenge as a fun, informative learning tool. Many visited the website and took advantage of the teachers' resource materials to use in classroom discussions and activities.

Although the contest has ended, the information will continue to be available online at www.financialfitnesschallenge.ca .

The aim of the Canadian Securities Administrators-sponsored project is to make smart money management "cool" to an increasingly web-savvy generation.

The Canadian Securities Administrators is a council of provincial and territorial securities regulators that co-ordinate and harmonize regulation for Canadian capital markets. Its mandate is to protect investors from unfair or fraudulent practices through regulation of the securities industry. Part of this protection is educating investors about the risks, responsibilities and rewards of investing.