SEC Chairman Levitt Stresses Need for Financial Education of Young AmericansWashington, DC, April 27, 1999 - At a news briefing yesterday, SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt encouraged young Americans to learn more about saving and investing. Educational outreach is part of the "Facts on Saving and Investing Campaign," a national partnership of government agencies, financial industry associations, and consumer organizations, spearheaded by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The campaign was launched in 1998 to help Americans of all ages and incomes to "get the facts" they need to save and invest wisely and to avoid costly mistakes. "Get the Facts. It's Your Money. It's Your Future." is the campaign's slogan. The Investment Company Institute is pleased to be a continuing partner in this campaign. This year, the campaign is focusing on students and young workers during the week of April 26. Levitt discussed the results of a survey of 16 - 22 year-olds released yesterday by the American Savings Education Council (the Institute is also a charter partner of this group). Among other findings, the 1999 Youth & Money Survey shows that fewer than one fourth of students have taken a personal finance course and two thirds say they should know more about money management.The SEC has developed and made available on its website a "Test Your Money $marts" quiz that tests "the top ten things students should know about money." Last week, the Institute launched a new Saving and Investing Campaign section on our website to help internet users "get the facts" about mutual funds. The new section uses a quiz format to show users what information is available on our site and how to get to it quickly and easily. For information about the education initiatives of other campaign partners, see the SEC's April 26 news release. For information about the need for financial education in general, see the SEC's 1999 report, The Facts on Saving and Investing. (Ed. Note: links to a .pdf file of size 134k.)
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