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About us

Experience | Judgement | Opportunity

Get inspired!

Junior Trader was created to give young people something increasingly difficult to obtain: meaningful, practical exposure to the world of finance.

Since 2008, we have worked with schools, universities and financial institutions to take financial education beyond textbooks – using investment challenges, real companies, experiential learning, storytelling and the cities where modern financial markets developed.

Our aim isn’t to teach young people to trade. It is to develop curiosity, commercial awareness, judgement and confidence -and to help students understand the people, businesses and decisions behind financial markets.

Junior Trader is a Community Interest Company, with bursaries and partnerships helping us widen access to students who may have little or no existing connection to the financial services industry.

Founded from Experience

Junior Trader was founded by Marc Duschenes, a former Investment Bank Director, fund manager and plc CEO.

Marc began his career on City dealing floors before specialising in retail equities, working with companies including Tesco and Walmart and subsequently founding and floating an investment management business.

He has spent more than 20 years combining that professional experience with financial education. Junior Trader grew from a simple idea: if traditional work experience in finance is increasingly difficult for young people to access, we need to create better ways of bringing the experience to them.

Marc’s aim is to improve the diversity of finance applicants and help unlock doors into the City for as many students as possible.

Learn in person

From Markets to Their Origins

Marc Duschenes brings an unusual perspective to financial education. His career has taken him from City dealing rooms and investment banking to fund management, entrepreneurship and the boardrooms of public companies — as an analyst, investor, Investment Bank Director, fund manager, founder and plc CEO.

His fascination by financial history and the origins of modern markets: how trade, banking, stock exchanges and investment developed, and the people, places and events that shaped them are essential to the future of finance.

Turning Experience into Learning

For more than 20 years, this experience to helps young people understand finance differently. Rooted in experiential learning — real companies, real places, real decisions and first-hand stories that bring subjects to life in a way a textbook cannot.

Students are encouraged to question information, weigh evidence, form opinions and explain their decisions. And through schools, universities, bursaries and industry partnerships, Junior Trader opens up experiences that can otherwise be difficult to access.

  • Experience: Students learn from someone who has worked inside the markets and businesses they are studying. Whether in a classroom, on a Finance Walking Tour or through a lecture, theory is connected to real events, places and professional experience.
  • Judgement: Marc’s career has involved making and defending decisions as an analyst, investor, director and CEO. Junior Trader uses those different perspectives to encourage students to question information, challenge assumptions and develop their own judgement rather than simply searching for the “right” answer.
  • Opportunity: Marc founded Junior Trader to give young people access to experiences and insights that can be difficult to obtain without existing connections to the industry. Through schools, universities, bursaries and partnerships, Junior Trader aims to make those opportunities available much more widely.
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An opportunity for students to understand the stock market - it was wonderful to see so many students participating and working together

Head of 6th Form
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Helped improve my teamwork, communication and time management skills and gave me a taste of how unpredictable stock markets can be

Student
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Always great to have happy and enthusiastic students in the building

Managing Director, Investment Bank
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The closest thing they could get to real life sector experience, extremely valuable!

Economics A Level Teacher
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I know more about what a career in finance is like - hearing real experiences in the sector was really insightful!

Participant
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The experience was incredibly informative and inspiring

Deputy Head
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It was wonderful to have them in the office. What an enthusiastic and engaged bunch! They will all do so well.

Head of Research, Investment Bank
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Every single one of our Economics Students put Junior Trader on their UCAS Applications last year

Head of 6th Form, Girls Grammar School
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Having been involved in JT since the 6th Form Trading Competition, I've also interned with the organisation. Their personal and genuine approach for developing young talent is unmatched.

Helena, UCLIntern

FAQ’s

 

Junior Trader is a not-for-profit careers education organisation founded and led by former equities trader Marc Duschenes. Drawing on nearly 30 years' experience in financial markets - as a professional trader, founder of a listed fund management business and careers educator -Marc established Junior Trader in 2008 to give young people an insight into an industry that is often difficult to access.

Today, Junior Trader helps students develop commercial awareness, analytical thinking and professional judgement through competitions, online programmes, mentoring and financial lecture tours. Rather than teaching students how to speculate on markets, the programme focuses on the skills employers value: critical thinking, ethics, governance, communication and informed decision-making.

Our programmes are designed primarily for students aged 15- 24, including GCSE, Sixth Form and university students, together with young people considering careers in finance, economics, business, consulting, law and other professional services.

No. Many students are studying Economics, Business or related subjects, but this is by no means essential. Junior Trader welcomes students from a wide range of academic backgrounds, including Mathematics, Sciences, Humanities and Languages.

We recognise that not everyone has access to industry contacts or financial knowledge at home. That's why the programme begins with our Jargon Buster, which explains the language and terminology commonly used in financial and professional services. By breaking down these barriers at the outset, students can approach the rest of the programme with confidence, regardless of their previous experience.

No. Junior Trader does not encourage young people to trade live financial markets.

While technology has made investing and share dealing more accessible than ever, we believe it has also become too easy for young people to begin trading before they fully understand the risks involved. Our focus is on developing the knowledge and judgement that should come before investing.

Through our TradeSafe initiative, we encourage students to build strong foundations in commercial awareness, ethics, corporate governance, risk management and analytical thinking before considering live investing. Our aim is to help young people become informed, responsible decision-makers—not simply teach them how to buy and sell shares.

Junior Trader is designed to prepare students for careers across financial and professional services, including investment banking, asset management, consulting, corporate finance, accounting and insurance.

More importantly, the programme develops the commercial awareness, professional judgement and analytical thinking that employers increasingly expect from applicants. Through real-world case studies, current business issues and practical assignments, students learn how to discuss topics such as corporate governance, business ethics, executive decision-making and market events with confidence.

These are the kinds of examples, opinions and commercial insights that regularly arise in university, apprenticeship and graduate interviews, helping students stand out beyond their academic qualifications.

Held each year over the Christmas and New Year period, the Junior Trader Annual Competition challenges students to analyse a real listed company before presenting an investment recommendation to a panel of experienced finance professionals.

The competition is open to both school teams and individual entrants, allowing students from partner schools and independent applicants to compete on equal terms.

Unlike many investment competitions, success is not determined by predicting the share price. Students are assessed on the quality of their research, commercial awareness, understanding of corporate governance and ethics, the strength of their analysis and their ability to defend their conclusions under questioning.

One of the competition's most popular features is the opportunity to "Beat the Founder" and "Beat AI". Alongside the student entries, Junior Trader founder Marc Duschenes produces his own investment report based on the same company, while ChatGPT is also set exactly the same challenge. Students can compare their work against both an experienced market professional and artificial intelligence to see how their own thinking measures up.

No. Teams build and manage a portfolio of investments rather than simply selecting a single share. While the performance of the portfolio forms part of the competition, it is only one aspect of the assessment.

Equal, if not greater, emphasis is placed on the quality of the written investment report, the research undertaken, the rationale behind each investment decision, teamwork, and the ability to explain and defend conclusions during the presentation and question-and-answer session.

The competition rewards disciplined thinking and well-reasoned decision-making, not simply choosing the best-performing shares.

The competition is open to a wide range of entrants. Schools can enter one or more teams, allowing students to compete with classmates or across year groups. Individuals who are not part of a participating school are also welcome to enter, as are youth organisations, university societies and other organised groups.

Whether you are entering as part of a team or independently, all participants receive the same challenge and are judged against the same assessment criteria.

Interested in Junior Trader?