SNHU Receives Grant to Start Financial Literacy Program

Washington, D.C. (Dec. 15, 2005) The National Association of Security Dealers Investor Education Foundation has awarded a grant of $103,300 to Southern New Hampshire University’s Center for Financial Studies to develop an interactive investment education program and curriculum that will promote financial literacy among high school students.

The project, entitled Financial Literacy Training for High School Students, will develop a curriculum that provides practical training to high school students on selecting a financial advisor, diversification in investing, selecting of mutual funds, and investment and retirement planning.

“It can be difficult for high school students to recognize the advantages of becoming financially literate at a young age and the long investment horizon before them,” said Robert R. Glauber, Chairman & CEO of NASD, who also serves as Chairman of the NASD Investor Education Foundation. “The NASD Foundation is hopeful this education program will help young adults gain the necessary investment skills to learn how to appropriately plan early in life for retirement.”

The proposed curriculum will be interactive. Students will be asked to access relevant Internet sites for information and work with the tools, data and calculators on those sites for additional analysis and to reinforce the investor literacy lessons. The project will be piloted in an academic trading room currently being built at Gaithersburg High School in Gaithersburg, MD and designed for replication nationwide.

“We are delighted to be working jointly with the NASD Investor Education Foundation on this financial literacy initiative addressing young people,” said David W. Fehr, associate professor of Finance, director of the Center for Financial Studies, and the NASD Grant Project Principal.  “We concur completely with the Foundation that the high school population is an ideal target audience for financial training of this type.  Our program will deliver a highly interactive and exciting curriculum emphasizing investing, retirement planning and related financial skills.”

The NASD Investor Education Foundation, established in 2003, supports innovative research and educational projects that give investors the tools they need to better understand the markets and the basic principles of financial planning.  The Foundation has awarded more than $2.4 million in total to organizations for educational programs and research projects targeting the underserved segments of the population. For details about grant programs and other new initiatives of the Foundation, visit www.nasdfoundation.org.

NASD is the leading private-sector provider of financial regulatory services, dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation.  NASD believes that understanding should precede investing - and that education is often the best form of investor protection. NASD's broad range of investor education programs include Investor Alerts, brochures and online resource guides on such critical topics as mutual fund class shares and 401(k) and college savings plans. This information is distributed through its Web site, www.nasd.com, printed materials and Investor Forums.

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