Investing for Success Program to Be Held in Baltimore

Contacts:
Leslie Dunbar, NUL 212/558-5438
Carol Davis, COBI-IEF, 336/922-6240
Derede McAlpin, ICI 202/371-5420

Washington, DC, May 17, 2001 - The National Urban League, the Coalition of Black Investors-Investment Education Fund, and the Investment Company Institute Education Foundation today announced that one in a nationwide series of investor education workshops promoting greater understanding among middle-income African Americans about the benefits of long-term investing will be held in Baltimore.

The Baltimore Investing for Success workshop is scheduled for Thursday, May 31, 2001. Registration is from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and the program is scheduled between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the Hilton Baltimore & Towers, 20 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore. The National Urban League, the Coalition of Black Investors-Investment Education Fund, the Baltimore Urban League, Brown Capital Management, and the Investment Company Institute Education Foundation sponsor the workshop, which will be presented by Stephon A. Jackson, Vice President and Portfolio Manager of Brown Capital Management. To reserve a space at the free workshop, call 1-877-358-5888 before May 28.

The Baltimore workshop is the latest in a nationwide series of investor education workshops aimed at providing information to investors about building wealth while maintaining realistic expectations and encouraging long-term investment planning. The Investing for Success workshops were developed in response to surveys that show that the African-American community directs a smaller portion of its income to long-term investments than other groups with similar incomes. The Coalition of Black Investors-Investment Education Fund reports that fewer than one in five African Americans participate in their employers' 401(k) retirement plan. A 1998 State of Black America report shows that the primary reason African Americans cite for not investing is lack of knowledge.

Hugh Price, President of the National Urban League, said, "The Investing for Success program is designed to inspire African Americans to become more knowledgeable about investing for retirement and to take advantage of opportunities to accumulate wealth. This partnership is one of the first steps toward accomplishing the National Urban League's mission to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, and power in the 21^st century. The National Urban League, COBI-IEF, and ICI share an important goal of helping African Americans to become economically self-sufficient."

"Investor education initiatives, such as Investing for Success, serve an important role in promoting a more comprehensive understanding of investing for African Americans," said Duane Davis, founder of COBI-IEF.

"The Investing for Success program brings important information about the benefits of long-term investing to the African-American community," said Institute Executive Vice President Julie Domenick. "Program participants agree that the workshop is clearly presented, useful, and something they would recommend to others. Together with the National Urban League and its local affiliate, and COBI-IEF, we look forward to bringing the program to Baltimore."

Investing for Success workshops have taken place in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Houston, Boston, New York, and Seattle. All have received high ratings from participants Additional workshops are being planned for Washington, DC (May 24), Chicago (June 13), Atlanta (August 30), San Francisco, Kansas City, and Miami.

Each participant at the program's personal finance workshops will use a series of worksheets to help them assess their risk tolerance and retirement needs and develop an action plan. They will also receive a series of investor awareness brochures, a video discussing successful investing, and information on additional resources.

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The Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream. The mission of the Urban League movement is to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity and power and civil rights. The Coalition of Black Investors-Investment Education Fund is recognized as the principal association for individual African-American investors. The Investment Company Institute Education Foundation is an affiliate of the Investment Company Institute, the national association of American mutual funds, closed-end funds and unit investment trusts.