Secretary of State’s Investor Education Campaign Strikes Chord, Large Crowds
Attend “Money Counts” Seminars, Public Service Announcements Airing on
Cable Systems Statewide

ATLANTA …Georgia investors are responding in large numbers to the statewide investor education campaign launched by Secretary of State Cathy Cox earlier this year.  In south, middle and north Georgia, more than 3,100 Georgians have attended the seven investor town hall meetings held so far.  Consumers attending the seminars receive free, non-commercial information on investing and personal finance from top experts in the field. 

            The series of town hall events began in January in Dublin, followed by Albany, Macon, Rome, Atlanta/Cobb County, Augusta and Athens.  More than 1,600 attended the Atlanta event June 29th, which featured renowned personal finance columnist and author Jane Bryant Quinn.  The series of seminars continues next month with events in Tifton, Fort Stewart and Savannah, followed by Columbus in October and a final southside Atlanta event in College Park in November.

            The initiative, which is funded in its entirety by the Investor Protection Trust, (an independent charitable trust supervised by state securities regulators), is designed to offer Georgians the knowledge and practical tools they need to make wiser investment choices, and to avoid becoming victims of investment fraud.  At the town hall seminars, in-depth presentations are offered on a variety of topics including avoiding investment fraud, retirement planning, money management and credit basics, saving for a child’s education and special considerations for women investors.  Attendees also receive a free Wall Street Journal investment guidebook and CD-ROM with the complete content of all presentations offered.

            Presenters are experts in their field, including top staff from the Securities Division of the Secretary of State and private attorneys, accountants, financial planners and other investment professionals.

            “We began our investor education program with high hopes for public involvement, but the response to these seminars, and to our entire investor education program, has far exceeded our expectations,” said Secretary of State Cox, who by statute also serves as Georgia’s Commissioner of Securities.  “In every city we’ve visited, we have found a real hunger among the public for professional, unbiased and objective information on a wide variety of investment topics.  The investment marketplace is more complex than ever, with a blizzard of new products for investors to consider.  At the same time, investment frauds and scams are also growing like wildfire, with new scams and new victims every day.  Our investor education campaign, including town hall meetings, publications and public service messages, is designed to have a real impact by helping Georgians make smarter investment decisions and arming them with the knowledge to avoid schemes and scams,” Secretary Cox said.

            Evaluations completed by attendees at the seminars indicate a very high level of satisfaction with the diverse content of the educational sessions and the expertise of the presenters. 

            Supporting the investor education effort are seven statewide co-sponsors, including AARP Georgia, The Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, the Georgia Consortium for Personal Financial Literacy and the UGA Cooperative Extension Service.  Assistance is also being provided by 90 local sponsors, including the Chambers of Commerce in each community, five Better Business Bureaus as well as numerous sheriffs, police departments and district attorneys.

            Before launching the investor education program, the Secretary of State’s Office contracted with the University of Georgia’s Survey Research Center to conduct a comprehensive survey of investor knowledge and attitudes.  Findings from the survey, the largest of its kind ever conducted in the state, were used to develop and target media messages and the subject matter for the seminars.

            One important finding of the UGA survey was that 80 % of Georgians could not name the correct government agency – state or federal – that regulates investments.  In addition, when respondents were provided a list of state agencies, fewer than 7 % correctly identified the Secretary of State as the regulator of securities products and licensed professionals.

            “A key objective of our investor education initiative is to let Georgia investors know that here at the state level, there is a ‘cop on the beat’ they can turn to for help. We’re here to not only regulate the industry and punish wrongdoing when it occurs, but also to serve as a resource for investors with questions about products or professionals,” said H. Wayne Howell, who directs the Secretary of State’s Securities Division.  “Because of the funding from the Investor Protection Trust, for the first time we have the resources to raise our profile as the state-level regulator of securities.  Our enforcement work, including criminal prosecutions and civil penalties, is extremely important, and increased public awareness -- including tips from the investing public -- will help us do an even better job of enforcement.  But just as important is our goal to arm investors with knowledge that can prevent them from becoming a victim of fraud in the first place,” Mr. Howell added.

The media campaign currently features three public service announcements airing on cable systems statewide.  In the spots, older investors tell the story of how they were lured into investment scams, and the ads direct viewers to the Secretary of State’s office for more information.  The public service announcements were produced by Neiman Group of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  The firm has produced investor education advertising for the Pennsylvania Securities Commission and other states, and has extensive experience in governmental and public service advertising.

A new, investor-oriented website, www.georgiainvests.org has also been created, with extensive information on avoiding fraud and making wise investment choices. Investors may call a toll-free Securities Division hotline at 1-888-733-7427. 

Funds to support the initiative are derived from enforcement actions completed by the Georgia Securities Division and regulators in other states.  Georgia, along with the 49 other states, in 2003 entered into a comprehensive “Global Settlement” with nine of America’s largest investment firms in connection with the investigation into conflicts of interest in the evaluation and recommendation of securities.  As a result of the settlement, each of the nine firms paid to Georgia the maximum civil penalties allowed by law – a total of $ 4.3 million that went to the state treasury. 

The securities firms also agreed to pay additional amounts to the Investor Protection Trust, an independent charitable trust that is overseen by securities regulators.  Under the terms of the Georgia settlement agreements, funds are to be dedicated solely to carry out investor education efforts in Georgia.  No taxpayer funds are being used to fund any portion of the investor education campaign.

The five remaining Money Counts investor town hall events on the 2004 schedule are:

Tifton, Sept. 9^th, 5:30 – 8 p.m., Rural Development Center

Fort Stewart, Sept. 22^nd, 5:30 – 8 p.m.

Savannah, Sept. 23^rd, 5:30 – 8 p.m., International Trade and Convention Center

Columbus, Oct 21^st, 5:30 – 8 p.m., Convention and Trade Center

Atlanta (College Park), Nov. 18^th, 5:30 – 8 p.m., Georgia International Convention Center.