Merrill Lynch said its global wealth management group is hosting an education programme for offspring of ultra-high net worth clients from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

This year, the five-day programme includes a day focusing on effective charitable giving, Merrill Lynch said. The education programme is open to those children of clients aged from 18 to 25.

A number of wealth management firms host education events to help families understand how to manage the assets they may inherit from their parents. Such firms include Coutts, the UK private bank, and the Haverford Trust Company, a US business.

For the philanthropy education element of the education programme, the UK-based advisor New Philanthropy Capital is working with the US firm on the course.

The 45 students on each of the two, week-long courses are divided into teams of eight, each with a specific charitable issue to research. Each team visits one of seven London-based charities, which include Greenhouse, Core Arts and Thames Reach. This part of the course aims to give participants a broad understanding of philanthropy – from how to approach charitable giving, to how charities operate on the ground and the process of fund raising.

After the visit, the teams present a fund raising pitch on behalf of the charity to a panel of Merrill Lynch judges, competing for a financial prize to be donated to the charity which the winning team is representing.

The education programme is being held at Merrill Lynch’s London financial headquarters and similar courses will be run in New York, Singapore and Hong Kong. The programme is by invitation only.

Over five days, participants are taken through a step-by-step guide to investing with presentations by Merrill Lynch analysts and investment professionals on different asset types, discretionary asset management, wealth structuring and alternative investments. The programme also includes a visit to Bloomberg, the news service, and Schroders, the UK investment management firm.

Other segments focus on life coaching, developing leadership skills and also personal security - giving the participants practical advice about how to keep themselves secure when they travel or go online.