Investing in the Stock Market

Learn hands-on how to invest and trade the stock market: For Beginners

Having basic personal financial skills is one of the most important things you can do to live a healthy, happy, and secure life.

As adults, we deal with our finances on a daily basis  through questions like:

• I have some extra money, what should I do with it?
• The stock market is going up – should I participate?
• What do terms like day trading, earnings, volatility, or ETFs even mean?
• What’s a good interest rate, and should I refinance?

Looking back, it would have been good if we had been prepared to answer these questions since we were kids.

Registration OPEN

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See all Fall 2025 courses

Why should you join this class

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In our engaging program, we delve into the realms of trading and long-term investing, covering crucial topics such as portfolios, diversification, interest rates, stocks, the stock market, bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, and Hedge Funds. Our aim is to demystify these financial concepts and make them accessible and understandable for young learners.

What sets our course apart is our hands-on approach. Participants will have the opportunity to open actual brokerage or trading accounts, immersing themselves in the world of financial instruments. By using real financial tools, they will gain practical insights into how these instruments function in the real world.

Meet our Teachers

Marius Moldovan

Volunteer Teacher since 2023

Marius is a Senior Portfolio Advisor and Portfolio Manager at Northern Trust, specializing in wealth management, financial planning, alternative investments, and asset management. He has been teaching financial education with RUF since 2023. He is excited to promote curiosity and interest in investing, finance, and trading, and inspire children in an engaging and fun class.

Class Basics

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• First class: Friday, Oct 24, 2025
• Sessions: 8 sessions, Once/month
• Class Starts: Friday, 5:00-6:00 PM CST
• Class Teacher: Marius Moldovan
• Target Audience: Kids ages 11-15 years
• Class Format: Online via Zoom
• Course fees: FREE (Excludes: Registration fees $100 to be paid after first class)

Class Details

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RUF’s Little Traders Class is an educational program organized by the Romanian United Foundation (RUF) for children, typically in middle school. The goal is to introduce them to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, investing, and financial literacy in an engaging, hands-on way.

1. Learn to Read: A Market Crash Course
2. Learn to Analyze: Technical vs Fundamental
3. Opening a Trading Account
4. Technical Analysis: Charting Fundamentals
5. Fundamental Analysis: X-Ray of a Private Company
6. Practice Trading: Orders and Concepts
7. Position and Risk Management

Interested in registering for this course?

Register Now

• How can I pay for my class?

  Only the registration fee is required. If one child takes multiple classes, one registration fee is required for each class.

  We want to offer our classes to everyone who has a high interest to learn. Therefore, we offer registration fee waivers for all families in need.

  Please note that registered volunteers do not have to pay the registration fee, but they still have to request a registration fee waiver.

    👉 Pay your registration fee here

    👉 Apply for the registration fee waiver

  NOTE: if you already paid the fee, but you are a volunteer or you did not know you qualified for a fee waiver, you can ask for a reimbursement

• I signed up for the monthly donation, does that also mean I am a member?

  Yes, making a monthly donation to RUF or ROCO means you already are a member. You should be able to find your name on the "members" page.

• When does this module start/end?

  Little traders is a once-a-month year long class, starting in October, and ending in June.

• What level of prior knowledge is required?

  The class is tailored for total beginners. No prior knowledge is required.

• What is the minimum age for this class?

  This class works best for anyone between 10 and 99 years old, that has no prior knowledge of markets, investing and trading. Smart 10 year olds get quite sophisticated, as most of them got really passionate about the subject.

  We've had kids as young as 6 attend this class successfully. This being said, those were exceptional cases.

• Will you talk about mostly?

  In this class, we focus mostly on stocks and investing in the stock market. Because cryptocurrencies are "the cool" asset these days, we will definitely have quite a few lessons on cryptos as well.

About Romanian United Foundation

RUF unites the global Romanian diaspora to foster strategic change through philanthropy, innovation, and community-building. By connecting leaders worldwide, RUF positions Romania as a dynamic force in the global economy for future generations.

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