“If you don't take risks you may not make a lot of money, which will make it difficult for you to get on the leaderboard,” says Abby explaining her success, thanks to the Toronto-based camps and after-school program provider focused on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, global knowledge and applied STEAM skills.

Abby discovered her love of investing last summer, then completed all four levels of Explorer Hop's E-Millionaire course, followed by monthly meetings with its “Investors Club.” Although this is an external course, she attributes her success with it to the influence of Branksome Hall’s focus on the International Baccalaureate Programme’s learner attributes.   

“The IB attribute, Inquirer, has shaped me the most,” says Abby. “[In the competition] I decided to do some research every few days, to find stocks that were growing but still had an appropriate chart, which shows the prices throughout the year. A lot of those stocks were riskier than my ideal risk tolerance, but I wanted to go for it so I could learn from my mistakes. Without Branksome I wouldn't be as much of an inquirer as I am now.”

Abby sounds like a pro as she describes her process of researching, risk taking and tracking trending stocks online. Here’s another pro tip: 

“Setting investment targets is one of the most crucial things you can do as a new investor because it allows you to keep track of your progress, where you are now, and what you want to achieve. These investment objectives aid in the development of your long-term financial strategy.” 

Abby’s mother Maryanne Morrow is pretty proud of her daughter’s mathematical mind and speaks of the pandemic’s unexpected learning opportunities.

“Investing is a natural extension of math and a real-world application,” says Morrow. “This success is also a serendipitous byproduct of the pandemic. When it hit, we were looking for some productive things for Abby to participate in; we’d just never had the time before. I’m thrilled that this has translated into financial literacy for her at such a young age—and a tad embarrassed to admit that she might know more than I do!”