Welcome to the website of The Stewart Ivory Financial Education Trust

The Stewart Ivory Financial Education Trust ('SIFET') runs a programme of financial education which is principally aimed at students in Scotland about to leave schools. The purpose is to prepare them to take control of their own finances in the short term, not only while they are in higher education (universities, colleges etc) or starting work, but to encourage them to think about financial issues for the longer term, including savings, mortgages and pensions.

The work of SIFET is particularly important in helping to prevent or, at the very least to mitigate, some of the causes of poverty, through a number of positive actions, which are designed to raise the financial awareness and increase financial literacy and capability of young people.

SIFET ’s work is highly relevant in addressing the causes of poverty, given that a significant proportion of young people:

  1. Get into debt at an early age and find it very difficult to get out of debt;
  2. Do not understand basic personal finance;
  3. Do not appreciate the costs of living away from home and/ or while studying at university or college; and
  4. Have to drop out of college and/or university and, as a result, fail to get an academic or other qualification, thereby limiting their employment prospects.