Detroit Public Library to Offer Investor Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2006
Contact OFIS Directly (toll-free): 877-999-6442
Media/Press calls: Kathy Fagan: 517-335-1700

Certified advisers will focus on researching stocks, checking out a broker.

A free seminar to educate Detroiters about investing will be held at the main branch of the Detroit Public Library from 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and again from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 20.

Sponsored by the Securities Section of the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS), the Investor Education @ your library program is designed to help individuals make informed investment decisions, whether in their company-sponsored retirement accounts or in their private savings accounts.
“This is a great opportunity for consumers to get solid information from knowledgeable experts,” said OFIS Commissioner Linda A. Watters. “Unlike many investment seminars, our consumers will be presented with good information—not a sales pitch.”

“The idea is to provide quality, noncommercial investor education through public libraries,” said Don Blandin, chief executive of the nonprofit Investor Protection Trust, which is based in Washington.

This nationwide series, Investor Education @ your library, has signed up libraries in 20 communities from Anchorage, Alaska, to Wichita, Kan., according to the American Library Association. A schedule of the seminars can be found on the ALA's Web site at http://cs.ala.org/ra/invest.

“Libraries have always provided patrons with information and resources to help them make good decisions for themselves and their families,” ALA President Michael Gorman said in a statement. “Libraries are places of opportunity for all people.”

Investor Education @ your library will involve 90 minute seminars on investing that will be taught by certified financial investment advisers. There also will be tips on fraud prevention from state securities regulators. The seminars will be followed by optional, one-on-one counseling sessions for participants.

Investor Education @ your library is made possible through a partnership with the American Library Association, Evelyn Brust Financial Research and Education Foundation, The Detroit Public Library and IPT. The program is part a national, multi-year public awareness and advocacy campaign to promote the value of libraries and librarians in the 21st century.

The seminar is free; however, advance registration is required, as well as pre-meeting materials. Seating is limited. Detroit Public Library, 5201 Woodward, north of Warren, in Midtown Detroit. For information call 313-833-4042, or visit the library’s web site, www.detroitpubliclibrary.org.

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