Lex van Dam, one of the UK’s most respected professionals in the financial industry writes the courses for the Academy to help more people to treat their money carefully. Lex is regulated by the FSA and he aims to provide financial education that empowers people to make the best decisions for their particular financial circumstances.
Education is an integral part of trading, investing, money management, and personal finance decisions. When I started working at Goldman Sachs in 1992, I underwent a nine-month training program before I was allowed to put on a single trade. The time was spent learning the technical skills that trading requires. At the same time I built my personal finance and money management skills. From deciding upon a career and negotiating a salary, to buying a first house, making tax efficient savings, retirement plans, etc., all these issues require basic financial acumen and an understanding of today’s complex financial services industry, in order to make decisions that ‘pay off’.
We are living in an age of financial turbulence, and as the economy is struggling, new financial education initiatives are taking advantage of people who are concerned about their financial futures. Unfortunately, there is a whole industry out there pretending that trading, investing, and personal finance decisions are easy, and that you can purchase success by writing a cheque. Aggressive sales techniques are being used to sell scam courses at exorbitant prices; courses that claim to make you rich very quickly, and for the rest of your life, with no effort required. The first taster course is usually free, but the follow-up course, where the real secrets are revealed, will end up costing thousands. The teacher is normally someone who failed in the City, but acts like a millionaire no longer in need of employment. Of course, these so-called ‘secrets’ from so-called ‘experts’ turn out to be worth nothing. I believe it is essential that something is done to stop this practice and bring transparency and quality to financial education. The starting point is for all of us to understand that the world and financial products change incredibly fast and we have no choice but to change with them. Continuous financial education can increase our chances of a financially better life.
That is why Lex van Dam Financial Education is committed to providing unbiased education, training, and support to our global following.
We do not represent third-party interests and aim to work only with those who have the same long-term vision of contributing to the development of stable, financially literate communities across the globe.
