Majority of Canadians want investing taught in high school

Toronto, Ontario, June 23, 1999 - An overwhelming majority of Canadians want learning about investing to be part of the high school curriculum.

According to a national opinion survey conducted by The Angus Reid Group for the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI) and the Investor Learning Centre (ILC), 88 per cent of Canadians say that learning about basic investing is so important to an individual's self-sufficiency and financial security that it should be taught in high school.

The survey is part of a continuing campaign by the CSI and the ILC to encourage provincial governments and educators to give Canadian high school students access to practical, accurate, unbiased, plain language information about investing.

The survey also found that:

• Virtually all Canadians (90 per cent) think that investment education during youth would have a positive impact on young people's ability to manage their money.
• Seventy-seven per cent of Canadians overall and 82 per cent of lower income Canadians believe that they would be more financially secure today if they had learned about investing while they were in high school.
• Sixty-six per cent strongly believe that today's young people will be more secure financially if they learn basic investment fundamentals early in life.

According to CSI/ILC President Dr. Roberta Wilton, the survey results show that, "Canadians recognize that in today's world, a basic understanding of how to invest and plan for the future is necessary to provide for their children's education and ensure a comfortable retirement."

"Canadians from all walks of life regret that their schooling did not include more emphasis on investing and managing money - knowledge that would have helped them take greater control of their financial futures," said Dr. Wilton. "They're sorry that they missed out and they don't want that to happen to their kids."

Over the past three years the not-for-profit CSI and ILC, who are the recognized experts in securities and financial education, have worked in consultation with teachers, students, parents and curriculum directors to develop an appropriate national school program.

The CSI and the ILC are now engaged in a two-pronged approach to implementing this program. The CSI is hoping to work with Ministry of Education staff and politicians in several provinces, including Ontario, to find space in the curriculum for investment education. In addition, the ILC is currently developing plain-language materials with input from teacher advisors from across Canada. All materials and services will be offered to educators free of charge.

"We believe it is imperative to develop high-quality resources for use in the classroom," said CSI/ILC Vice-President Ann Clarkson. "As an educator, it is our goal to work with provincial governments across the country to find appropriate spots in the school curriculum for this topic, so that the current generation of high school students has a clear understanding of how to use investment knowledge to plan for the future."

The Canadian Securities Institute was founded in 1970 as an independent, not-for-profit organization. It is recognized as the official educator of the Canadian securities industry, and is endorsed by the Investment Dealers Association and the major Canadian stock exchanges. The CSI has four offices across Canada.

In 1996, the CSI established the Investor Learning Centre. The ILC is Canada's only independent, not-for-profit organization solely dedicated to providing non-promotional and plain-language investment education to the general public. Since its foundation, the ILC has developed a strong reputation throughout the industry and with individual investors for reliable and unbiased investment information. The ILC is funded through revenues from its low-cost seminars and publications, and by a grant from the Canadian Securities Institute. Among other services, the ILC operates two free resource centres in Toronto and Calgary and a web site at investorlearning.ca. ILC-sponsored investment seminars are also offered in more than 50 communities across Canada.

The national Angus Reid poll was conducted by telephone in June 1999 among a representative cross-section of 1,500 Canadian adults. The results are considered reliable within plus or minus 2.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

For further information contact:

W. John Wright, Senior Vice-President
ANGUS REID GROUP, INC.
(416) 324-2900

Anne Marie Males
Investor Learning Centre of Canada
(416) 681-2214

The Angus Reid Group is Canada's largest and most well known Canadian research company. Established in 1979 by Dr. Angus Reid, the company serves 1200 clients via its six offices in Canada, four offices in the United States and its European office in London, England. With a compliment of 250 full time qualitative and quantitative researchers, the company has annual revenues of $65 Million and is growing at an average rate of 30 percent per year. The employee owned company also operates its own field service entity, Direct Reid, utilizing 450 CATI telephone interviewing stations for north American calling and a 50,000 household consumer panel in Canada.