How TD Ameritrade U Teaches College Students About Derivatives And Leverage

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Financial expert and media personality Jeff Macke was the fireside chat host at the 2015 Benzinga Fintech Awards gala in New York on April 8.

Below is the video and full transcript of his talk with Mary Ryan, Senior Specialist, Events & Relations, Trader Services at TD Ameritrade.

Jeff Macke: I’m with Mary Ryan, she’s with TD Ameritrade on the university side of things. I’m here to find out what that means. So, what does that mean?

Mary Ryan: Yeah. So, what I do is, I run the university program at TD Ameritrade, which is named TD Ameritrade U, and what we do is provide all of our technology and trading tools that we provide our retail clients to university students for free.

Jeff Macke: So, are kids trading again? Because I tried to get a bunch of 20-somethings to trade, and they don’t really trust the market for some reason.

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Mary Ryan: Actually, this past October, we launched our first thinkorswim challenge, where we had a trading competition for four weeks where they were trading stocks and options. We had over 900 students participate, with their first time doing it, and it was really cool. By the end of it, they were trading 80% options and 20% stocks. So, yeah, they are trading.

Jeff Macke: 80% options? Does anyone buy and hold? Does anyone anywhere buy and hold now?

Mary Ryan: So, when they first started day one, they were trading 55% stock, 45% options. And day two, it flipped. But by the end, they really learned, they self-taught themselves how to trade derivative products and really learn about leverage.

Jeff Macke: So, what’s the most exciting development that you’ve seen over the last six months, and where do you think we’re going? In terms of what you’re seeing at the fintech awards here and the products being offered.

Mary Ryan: The thing that I see most is a lot of mobile. And we’ve learned that with the younger traders and the millennials, the gens, we see things going very mobile. And I think that’s the direction that a lot of the technology and the development is going to keep going.

Jeff Macke: Thanks so much. She’s Mary Ryan with TD Ameritrade. She says the kids, they’re alright, but they’re trading like a bunch of undisciplined monkeys. We’ll see how that works out for them in the long haul. Let us know what you think.

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Posted In: OpinionExclusivesInterviewBenzinga Fintech AwardsJeff MackeMary RyanTD AmeritradeTD Ameritrade Uthinkorswim
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