We talk a lot about safeguarding online, but we rarely talk about financial safeguarding. We need to.
Students can open demo trading accounts under 18 and, the moment they turn 18, move straight into live markets, sometimes without ever learning the basics of risk. After sixteen years of delivering Junior Trader sessions, one pattern is clear: access to risk is now faster than the speed of learning.
I still open my lectures with a story about trading from a payphone between lessons. It took intent, effort, and a pocket full of 10p coins. Today, markets sit on the same device students use for schoolwork and social media, with all day access between classes.
What has changed in the classroom is telling:
- First, it was curiosity about familiar brands and football clubs
- Then, questions about profiting when prices fall, and why risk management matters even in simulation
- Then, a welcome rise in ethical investing and values based decisions
- And now, crypto is often normalised as “just another option”, despite the very real difference between regulated investing and unregulated speculation
Demo accounts can be brilliant when framed properly: process, discipline, patience, diversification. But they can also become a gateway to confidence without understanding, especially where fast, game like crypto environments blur the line between education and gambling.
A single poor decision with 18th birthday money can erase months of minimum wage work in seconds. Legality is not the same as safeguarding.
In 2026, Junior Trader will be clearer than ever: we teach regulated markets, long term thinking, balanced portfolios, and risk management. We will also add voluntary risk warnings in lectures and on our website.
If you work in regulated finance, education, or safeguarding, what wording would you want young people to see before they trade?
TRADE RESPONSIBLY. LEARN FIRST. PROTECT YOUR FUTURE.
#TradeSafe #FinancialSafeguarding #FinancialEducation #RiskManagement #InvestorProtection #YouthFinance #DigitalSafeguarding #RegulatedMarkets
