Franklin Templeton National Mutual Fund Olympiad returns for second edition, targets 50,000 students

The initiative aims to promote financial literacy and investor awareness among students across India. The expected participation is significantly higher than the 10,000 students who took part in the inaugural edition.

Groww has joined the initiative as an education partner.

Olympiad to feature four rounds

The Olympiad will bring together students from more than 1,000 colleges and will be conducted across four stages — Level 1, Level 2, Zonal and the Grand Finale.

Students will be tested on concepts related to finance, equity markets, debt markets, equity mutual funds and passive investment products.

The Grand Finale is scheduled to take place at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The initiative will also provide students with exposure to investment products and concepts including Portfolio Management Services (PMS), Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).

Suparno Roy Choudhury, Regional Head - East, FinX, is interacting with Sia Singh, the last year finalist from IIFT, about her experience in the Grand Finale at Mumbai. Photo: PR Team

FinX focuses on assessment-based financial literacy

Speaking about the format of the Olympiad, Suparno Roy Choudhury, Regional Head - East at FinX, said the organisation chose a competitive examination format rather than a conventional financial literacy course.

“In this dynamic world, there are multiple things which are changing: regulations, business models, and individuals have to learn and unlearn a lot of things. In a broad way, this is awareness in an assessment,” he said.

Addressing the accessibility of the programme and the rural-urban divide, Choudhury said FinX would also organise seminars in Barasat to expand its reach.

Groww highlights importance of early financial education

Research Analyst Akash Baid from Groww also addressed students at IIFT Kolkata, explaining basic concepts related to the stock market and mutual funds.

He highlighted common investment mistakes, including panic selling, the past performance trap and concentration risk. Baid also introduced a FILTER framework — Fit, Instrument, Longevity, Total Cost, Endurance and Repeatability — to help students evaluate investment decisions.

He also interacted with students from the institute's freshman and graduating batches and answered their questions on financial markets and investment.

Harsh Jain, Co-founder and COO of Groww, said the key challenge in financial inclusion is increasingly about understanding rather than access.

“What we have realised over the years is that access is no longer the problem - understanding is. The best time to build that understanding is when someone is still a student, before they invest their first rupee,” Jain said.

He added that early understanding of markets and mutual funds could help young people develop better financial habits.

Franklin Templeton backs investor education

Avinash Satwalekar, President, Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India), said the response to the inaugural edition reflected growing interest among young Indians in practical financial knowledge.

“At Franklin Templeton, we believe financial literacy is an essential life skill, and initiatives like the Olympiad help equip students with the confidence to make informed financial decisions while improving their understanding of the evolving investment landscape,” he said.

He added that the second edition would seek to reach more students and promote investment awareness and financial capability across the country.

Registration open

Registration for the second edition is currently open, with the Level 1 examination priced at ₹499.

The registration fee includes participation in the Olympiad, an e-certificate, one premium short course, access to the FinX Employment Exchange Portal and discount coupons worth ₹5,000 applicable to FinX group certifications.

(Reporting by Swastik Sarkar)