Quilter has pledged £4 million to boost financial education in the UK in a win for The Times’s Smarter with Money campaign, which is calling for more money lessons to be taught in all secondary schools.
The wealth manager has said it will launch a new financial education in schools initiative for the 2026-27 academic year.
• The Times calls for a financial education revolution
The chief executive of Quilter, Steven Levin, said: “The Smarter with Money campaign is a welcome and timely initiative. If we are to build a more financially resilient society, we must spark a national conversation and drive meaningful, sustained change.”
The firm is working in partnership with the charity Money Ready to deliver a network of volunteer advisers to teach primary and secondary students about finance.
As well as the school-based projects, £1 million will be used for strategic grants to specialist charities. They will provide support during “pivotal life moments”, such as the transition into employment, periods of financial hardship and retirement planning. By addressing the knowledge gaps in these areas, the initiative aims to ensure that the progress made in the classroom is supported throughout adult life.
Levin said: “There is a severe lack of financial education and, consequently, financial capability in the UK. Too many people are left to navigate important financial decisions without the knowledge or confidence to do so, and this gap has real consequences for families.”
• The teenage boys on a mission to teach others how to invest
Last year the government’s financial inclusion strategy made financial literacy a compulsory part of the primary school curriculum. The Times wants to widen this strategy so that every secondary school pupil has 15 hours of financial education a year, including lessons on investing. About 4 million people invested money in a stocks and shares Isa in the 2023-24 tax year — we want to see this increase to 5 million a year.
On Friday the broadcaster Carol Vorderman pledged her support for our Smarter with Money campaign alongside the former Lioness footballer Jill Scott.