Investing for Success Program to Be Held in Minneapolis, MN

Workshop Offered to Area Residents as Part of National African-American Investor Education Partnership

Washington, DC, October 2, 2003 - The National Urban League, Coalition of Black Investors-Investment Education Fund, and the Investment Company Institute Education Foundation announced today that Minneapolis, MN will be the site of the next in a nationwide series of investor education workshops promoting greater understanding among middle-income African Americans about the benefits of long-term investing.

The Investing for Success workshop is scheduled for Thursday, October 30, 2003. Registration is from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and the program is scheduled between 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. at Glover-Sudduth Center, located at 2100 Plymouth Avenue North. Sponsors are the National Urban League, Coalition of Black Investors-Investment Education Fund, the Minneapolis Urban League, and the Investment Company Institute Education Foundation. The workshop will be presented by Charlotte A. Stallings, Vice President - Investment Strategies, American Express Funds. To reserve a space at the free workshop, call 612/302-3136 before Wednesday, October 29.

Participants at the program's investor education workshop 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 DVD discussing successful investing, and information on additional resources.

The Minneapolis workshop is the latest in a series of investor education workshops aimed at providing information to investors about building wealth while maintaining realistic expectations and encouraging long-term investment planning. Investing for Success workshops were developed in response to surveys that show that despite a significant increase in investor awareness among African Americans, the community directs a smaller portion of its income to long-term investments than other groups with similar incomes. A recent survey indicates the primary reason African Americans cite for not investing is lack of knowledge.

Marc H. Morial, 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 the importance of investing for African Americans," said Carol Davis, president 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 Minneapolis."

Investing for Success workshops have taken place in Philadelphia, PA; Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX; Boston, MA; New York, NY; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; Columbia, SC; Miami, FL; Chattanooga, TN; Birmingham, AL; Phoenix, AZ; Milwaukee, WI; Fort Wayne, IN; Fort Lauderdale, FL; New Orleans, LA; and Louisville, KY. All have received high ratings from participants. Additional workshops are being planned. For those unable to attend a workshop, ICIEF launched an award-winning web course in May 2001 that integrates all the workshop materials in an interactive, multimedia format.

The National 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 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.