Investing for Success Program to Be Held in New Orleans
Workshop Offered to Area Residents as Part of National African-American Investor Education Partnership

Washington, DC, March 28, 2003 - The National Urban League, Coalition of Black Investors-Investment Education Fund, and the Investment Company Institute Education Foundation announced today that New Orleans 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 Wednesday, April 23, 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 Dillard University in the Samuel DuBois Cook Fine Arts Center located at 2601 Gentilly Boulevard in New Orleans. Sponsors are the National Urban League, Coalition of Black Investors-Investment Education Fund, the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, Inc., American Century Investment Services, Inc., and the Investment Company Institute Education Foundation. John Lawson of American Century will present the workshop. To reserve a space at the free workshop, call 504/620-2332 before Tuesday, April 22.

Each participant 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 video discussing successful investing, and information on additional resources.

The New Orleans 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. 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 recent study indicates 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 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 New Orleans."

Investing for Success workshops have taken place in Philadelphia; Los Angeles; Houston; Boston; New York; Seattle; Washington, DC; Baltimore; Chicago; Atlanta; Columbia, SC; Miami; Chattanooga, TN; Birmingham, AL; Phoenix; Milwaukee; Fort Wayne, IN; and Fort Lauderdale, FL. All have received high ratings from participants. Additional workshops are being planned.

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. American Century is a premier multi-disciplined, global asset management firm offering a diverse range of investment options in domestic equity, international equity, fixed income, money market securities, and retirement plans for individual and institutional investors. In business for over 40 years, American Century strives to deliver the highest levels of service and remains committed to the guiding belief of their founder, James E. Stowers, Jr.-"that the ultimate measure of our performance is our customers' success."