Workplace Investor Education Thriving Under New Approach Promoted By State Securities Regulators

Significant Improvements Seen in Employee Knowledge and Financial Behavior; Funding Made Possible by Investor Protection Trust and Investor Protection Institute.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 12,000 employees at nearly 300 companies in 12 states took part in over 120,000 hours of unbiased personal finance and investing education during the first three years of the "Investor Education in Your Workplace ®" program, according to an Investor Protection Trust (IPT) and Investor Protection Institute (IPI) report to the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability. The program is a project of the two nonprofit organizations.

By the end of this fall, the number of people who have benefitted from Investor Education in Your Workplace will have jumped to about 20,000. The latest round of Investor Education in Your Workplace training launched on Monday (October 22^nd) with more than 100 companies and over 8,000 individuals registered to participate. 

After starting out with the involvement of state securities regulators in Wisconsin, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, the national program has since spread to nine other states:  Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, Washington and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia.

IPT President and CEO Don Blandin said:  "The Investor Education in Your Workplace program is proving itself to be an extremely effective and easy-to-implement program. It can be delivered at less than one-quarter the cost of conventional programs with verifiable results that are up five times better in terms of participation and change in knowledge and behavior.  The program's online format and relevancy are constantly improved in response to participant, employer and expert feedback. The Investor Education in Your Workplace program will continue to grow and provide a rich financial and investment education experience that delivers excellent results."

To learn more about Investor Education in Your Workplace, go to http://www.investoreducationinyourworkplace.org.To see the IPT/IPI submission to the President's Council go to http://www.investoreducationinyourworkplace.org.     

The Investor Education in Your Workplace online training program is designed for all employees, regardless of age, education or income and can be accessed 24/7 via web browsers on computers, tablet devices and smart phones.  The program provides recognition of employers based on the percentage of employees to complete the program. Employees of all ages, incomes, ethnicities and education levels have successfully completed the program. Past participants have included employees from: credit unions; state, local and county governments; faculty of elementary schools, colleges and universities; office workers; and healthcare professionals.

The impact of the Investor Education in Your Workplace has been documented thoroughly.   Between April and August 2012, 75 companies and over 3,300 people in seven states participated in the program, yielding the following results:

• 34 percent improvement in knowledge through pre and post-testing data;
• 18 percent increase in the number of participants creating a written budget;
• 50 percent increase in the number of participants developing a written financial plan;
• 17 percent decrease in the number of participants who paid a late fee in the past three months;
• 13 percent increase in the number of participants creating an emergency savings fund (with at least three months of savings set aside to cover unexpected expenses); and
• 10 percent increase in the number of participants saving more after the program than before it.

With financial support from the Investor Protection Trust in 2009, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Educated Investor® (EI) collaborated to develop a workplace-centered, online financial education program with the goal of providing employees with unbiased instruction in personal finance and investing fundamentals.  The first program was rolled out in Wisconsin in 2009-2010 and was titled the Real Pathways and Progress to Prosperity (RP3) program; the program is now part of the Investor Education in Your Workplace program.  The Educated Investor (published by Precision Information, LLC) provides the content, technology and program management for Investor Education in Your Workplace. 

ABOUT THE GROUPS

The Investor Protection Trust is a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education. More than half of all Americans are now invested in the securities markets, making investor education and protection vitally important. Since 1993 the Investor Protection Trust has worked with the states and at the national level to provide the independent, objective investor education needed by all Americans to make informed investment decisions. The Investor Protection Trust strives to keep all Americans on the right money track. For more information, go to http://www.investorprotection.org.

The Investor Protection Institute is an independent nonprofit organization that advances investor protection by conducting and supporting unbiased research and groundbreaking education programs. IPI carries out its mission through investor education, protection and research programs delivered at both the national and grassroots level in collaboration with state securities regulators and other strategic partners. IPI is dedicated to providing innovative investor-protection programs that will make a meaningful difference in the financial lives of Americans in all walks of life and at all levels of sophistication about financial matters. For more information, go to http:/www.protectinvestors.org. 

Educated Investor is published by Precision Information, LLC, a leading provider of unbiased financial education materials providing technology, content and tools to hundreds of companies and millions of people. 

SOURCE Investor Protection Trust and Investor Protection Institute, Washington, D.C.