TD Ameritrade U Brings Real-World Trading Experience Into The Classroom

Dozens of companies are heading to the

on April 8, 2015. Scheduled to take place at Tribeca Three Sixty in New York City, the event will bring together a cornucopia of groundbreaking and innovative companies that are striving to improve the way individuals create wealth in the capital markets. One of the standout attendees is

, a unique educational program that gives students the opportunity to test financial and economic theories using a real-world trading platform. "This is a fairly new initiative for our organization," Nicole Sherrod, managing director of

trading business, told Benzinga. "We're providing professors and teachers alike with the tools that they need to conduct stock market education curriculum in the classroom." TD Ameritrade U gives students access to the thinkorswim trading platform and a suite of mobile apps. "[Students can] put them into play in living, breathing markets," said Sherrod. "We give them real-time quotes, access to all the different products -- equities, ETFs, even futures and forex -- so it's a great way for students really to learn how to invest."

TD Ameritrade might be a well-known brand, but the company has taken a startup approach in creating TD Ameritrade U. "We knew that there were gonna be a lot of companies in the startup community that were applying [to the Benzinga Fintech Awards], and it was really important for us to throw our hat in the ring, 'cause that's a space we want to play in as well," said Sherrod. "Even though we're an established financial services firm with roots dating back to 1975, we want to be seen as a scrappy innovator as well."

To further enhance the unique brand surrounding TD Ameritrade U, Sherrod said that the company "stepped way outside of our traditional style guide." "If you go to tdameritradeu.com, it looks completely different from anything that you would see relevant to tdameritrade.com," she said. TD Ameritrade U is also launching achievement badges that students can earn as they use the platform. The badges, which integrate a level of humor that students are sure to appreciate, were conceived by comedian Tracy Marhal (who is also a copywriter at TD Ameritrade). "We actually relied heavily on our summer interns to create an offering that was really gonna resonate with young people, as well as professors," said Sherrod. Disclosure: