Investor Awareness Video Available

Washington, DC, April 29, 1998 - A new video, Understanding Mutual Funds, is now available from the Investment Company Institute as part of its continuing investor awareness program. The 16-minute video highlights key factors every investor should consider before investing in a mutual fund.

"Providing investors with the tools they need to make informed decisions about mutual fund investing is a long-standing priority of the Institute and its members," said Julie Domenick, ICI's Executive Vice President. "This video helps investors answer the questions they need to ask before investing in a mutual fund."

The video, introduced by SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, Jr., covers nine key items investors should consider, including: the fund's goal, most significant risks, fees and expenses, and manager. The video is a companion piece to ICI's most recent publications, A Guide to Understanding Mutual Funds and Questions You Should Ask Before You Invest in a Mutual Fund.

Copies of the video are available to the public for $10 each. To obtain a copy of the video or other investor awareness materials, write to ICI Investor Awareness Campaign, P.O. Box 27849, Washington, DC, 20038-7850.

The Investment Company Institute is the national association of the American investment company industry. Its membership includes 6,987 open-end investment companies ("mutual funds"), 437 closed-end investment companies, and 9 sponsors of unit investment trusts. Its mutual fund members have assets of about $4.747 trillion, accounting for approximately 95 percent of total industry assets, and have more than 62 million individual shareholders.