CIRANO and its partners in the Bourstad Program officially launched on January 13 the registration campaign for the Bourstad 2020 Challenge.

From February 10 to April 9, 2020, novice and experienced investors alike will have the opportunity to participate in the Bourstad 2020 Challenge and compete for prizes totalling more than $30,000. The Bourstad Challenge takes place on the Internet (www.bourstad.ca) and welcomes, each year, high school and CEGEP students as well as participants from the general public, including university students.

Participants must manage a virtual portfolio of $200,000 and invest this amount in various investment vehicles. Bourstad offers three types of participation: financial performance, portfolio management and responsible investment. The participants with the best performances will be rewarded at the awards ceremony to be held at the Grande Bibliothèque de Montréal on May 20, 2020.

The Bourstad simulations use a highly innovative technological platform: real-time transactions, daily dividend payments, compatibility with mobile devices, etc. This platform was developed thanks to financial assistance received from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).

For the 2020 edition, the simulation proposes the choice between 2 selections of eligible titles : a) the Bourstad Portfolio, which consists of 532 securities composed of shares of Canadian companies and other countries (377), exchange-traded or actively managed funds (113), actively managed investment funds (36) and currencies (6), or b) the Bourstad Plus Portfolio, which offers 104 additional securities, mainly options traded on the Montréal Exchange.

"CIRANO and its partners offer on www.bourstad.ca a wide range of resources that allow everyone to develop their savings and investment skills; it's always a win-win situation to take part in the Bourstad! competition", says Mr. Paul Bourget, Bourstad's project director at CIRANO

"The Bourstad financial education program is part of CIRANO's economic and financial literacy projects. This initiative helps improve the economic and financial knowledge and skills of young people and the general public. Good success at this 33rd edition of the Bourstad Challenge and thank you to our partners."
Mrs. Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin, President and Chief Executive Officer of CIRANO

"People are making increasingly important and complex financial management choices. Our role at TD is to instill greater confidence in their financial capabilities, and our work with Bourstad fits perfectly with that commitment."
Ms. Cathy Sleiman, Senior Manager, Eastern Canada, TD Direct Investing, and Honorary Chair of the Bourstad 2020 Challenge

The Bourstad Program is an activity of CIRANO which receives support from many partners for this financial education project: the Autorité des marchés financiers, its main partner, the TD Bank, Les Affaires newspaper, Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), CFA Montreal, Finance Montreal, TMX Group, Hyprasoft, Croesus and QuoteMedia.

During the 2018-2019 school year, this financial education program reached more than 8,000 new participants. There are currently more than 22,000 participants on the Bourstad platform.

Information: Paul Bourget, Bourstad's project director at CIRANO (bourgetp@cirano.qc.ca or 514 985-4000, poste 3006)