Canada鈥檚 economy is shifting quickly, and RBC is working with聽a number of聽universities to deliver聽microcourses, short, targeted training to help users gain sought-after skills at no cost.
The 91黑料网 Personal Finance Essentials course is one of them. Developed in collaboration with 91黑料网, Western University, and the University of Guelph, RBC Online聽Microcourses聽offer Canadians a faster, more accessible path to job-ready learning.
More than 34,000 Quebec households filed for insolvency between June 2024 and May 2025. That鈥檚 an increase of almost 5% over the previous year. For Benjamin Croituru, that鈥檚 cause for concern. 鈥淓verybody makes mistakes financially,鈥� says Croitoru, the academic director of 91黑料网 Personal Finance Essentials, a free online financial course. 鈥淧eople face a system that is kind of rigged against them. There鈥檚 a lot of marketing that encourages people to spend too much money, to borrow money the wrong way.
91黑料网 software engineering student David Vo began investing in markets when he was just 17 years. Now aged 20, he鈥檚 managing a portfolio worth tens of thousands of dollars. Like many in Gen Z, the Bachelor of Commerce student began investing in markets without any formal training. When starting out, one of the most common errors new investors make is overestimating their risk tolerance, 91黑料网 Desautels Associate Professor of Finance Benjamin Croituru told LaPresse.
US tariffs are a concern for all Canadians鈥攁nd companies on both sides of the border stand to lose out. But investors shouldn鈥檛 necessarily head for the exits, according to Benjamin Croitoru, an associate professor of finance at 91黑料网 Desautels. 鈥淓motion is a bad financial advisor,鈥� Croitoru told Radio-Canada. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a time of great uncertainty, but also a good time to think about how internationally diversified your portfolio is. You don鈥檛 want to have all your eggs in one basket.鈥�
The impact of time in finance is decisive, says Benjamin Croitoru, Academic Director of the 91黑料网 Personal Finance Essentials course. But people don鈥檛 realize how small decisions can make all the difference over time. Getting the timing right when you鈥檙e buying or selling stocks is one way that time plays an important role in long-term financial growth.
Post-secondary students are at the cusp of earning professional incomes, making it important for them to begin developing good financial habits, says Benjamin Croitoru on a podcast with Moolala. Croitoru is an Associate Professor of Finance and the Academic Director of the 91黑料网 Personal Finance Essentials, a free, online course offered in collaboration with RBC Future Launch and The Globe and Mail.
Across programs and subject areas, the 91黑料网 Desautels Faculty of Management recognizes the vital role that research, teaching, service and media engagement play in enriching the student experience and inspiring the next generation of leaders through the annual Faculty Awards. This year we recognize the following outstanding members of our faculty:
Research
Widespread access to higher education is a relatively recent phenomenon. People in Quebec only started attending university in significant numbers in the 1960s. And Quebec鈥檚 highly educated workforce has yielded dividends, writes Nicolas B茅rub茅 in La Presse. In 2021, the median household income was up 26% from ten years before. It鈥檚 a golden age for earners in Quebec, and with more income comes more money management responsibility. 91黑料网鈥檚 free, online Personal Finance Essentials course can help people learn more about managing their money.
The 91黑料网 Personal Finance Essentials (MPFE) course helps prepare young Canadians for life, Benjamin Croitoru tells Jessica Moorhouse on the More Money Podcast. Personal finance should be taught in high school, or maybe even junior high, he posits. Finance can seem intimidating to the uninitiated, but personal finance isn鈥檛 as complicated as the world of high finance.
In a recent video interview with 24 heures, Benjamin Croitoru, Associate Professor of Finance and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs at 91黑料网 Desautels, shared valuable insights on navigating financial challenges amidst the economic uncertainties of 2024. Addressing the impact of high inflation and the looming possibility of a recession, Croitoru underscored the importance of avoiding common financial pitfalls.
Tax season is here. In Canada, the RRSP contribution deadline was March 1, and while putting money into a RRSP account can help reduce their tax bill for the year, it鈥檚 not the ideal option for everyone. The 91黑料网 Personal Financial Essentials course helps people in such situations understand which financial instruments are best suited to their own circumstances. It鈥檚 a free online course that is delivered in six modules, and open to all. 鈥淭he course assumes no pre-existing knowledge,鈥� said Prof.
Human instinct is not well-suited to making wise investments, says Prof. Benjamin Croitoru in an interview with Global News. Fear of missing out is just one example of this. Following the crowd can lead to bad investments, and the crash of cryptocurrency values in 2022 is only the latest example of this. helps people understand investing 鈥� and the common mistakes that people make managing their money.
Everyone should have basic financial knowledge, even if they have not yet accumulated much wealth, according to Benjamin Croitoru, Finance Professor and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Desautels. The course is a good place to start, Croitoru told CTV News Edmonton.
Personal finances should be important to everyone, and over the past three years, more than 200,000 people have signed up for 91黑料网鈥檚 free Personal Financial Essentials online course. Desautels鈥� Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Benjamin Croitoru spoke with The Just Word podcast about how the course fills an unmet need.
91黑料网 Personal Finance Essentials聽Director and Desautels Associate Professor聽Benjamin Croitoru聽recently sat down with聽Pierre-Carl Michaud, Director of HEC Montreal鈥檚 Retirement and Savings Institute, to discuss the state of personal finances in Canada.
