February 6, 1992
TO: BOARD OF GOVERNORS NO. 10-92
RE: ICI EDUCATION FOUNDATION INTERVIEWS WITH CONSULTANT
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For those of you who attended the Board of Governors
meeting last week, enclosed is a copy of the Education Foundation
video we saw there. Within the next few days, many of you will
receive a letter from Tom Powers and Jim Riepe requesting that
you meet with the Foundation's outside consultant, Stephen Moore
of Moore and Associates. Additional background material will
follow, and shortly thereafter, Mr. Moore will contact you to
schedule an interview. We greatly appreciate your cooperation.
For those of you who were unable to attend the Board
meeting, the following is some background about the enclosed
video, the Foundation's work to date, and the interviews.
The ICI Education Foundation. The Foundation is an
affiliate of ICI charged with providing educational programs and
materials about mutual fund investing. Based on market research
conducted over the past two years, the Foundation has developed a
variety of ideas for possible mutual fund education programs,
their proposed marketing and distribution, and estimated startup,
average annual operating, and endowment costs for each program.
Personal Interviews. Within the next few days, many of you
will receive a letter from Tom Powers and Jim Riepe requesting
that you set aside 45 minutes of your time for a confidential
interview with the Foundation's outside consultant, Stephen Moore
of Moore and Associates. Before the Foundation proceeds with any
specific programs, we need your input in two major areas: (1)
which programs you would most like to see developed and (2) how
best to fund these programs.
For the past few years, the ICI Board has earmarked for the
Foundation a portion of the ICI's surplus. The Foundation will
use this seed money for pilot programs. But in order to sustain
and extend those programs, the Foundation must look to mutual
fund organizations and their suppliers for long-term funding.
Because the IRS has determined that the Foundation is a
charitable educational organization, both corporate and
individual contributions will be tax-deductible.
First-priority Audience. The Education Foundation is
recommending secondary-school economics teachers and students for
its first-priority audience. After careful consideration of
alternatives, the Foundation has concluded that this audience
offers the most cost-effective means of making a lasting impact
on potentially the broadest audience. ICI Board members attend-
ing last week's meeting generally concurred in this approach.
Enclosed Video. The Foundation commissioned a market
research firm to evaluate the current status of secondary-school
economic education, with particular attention to instruction on
mutual fund investing. This research included focus groups of
high-school economics teachers, as well as interviews with state
and federal education officials, senior executives at educational
trade associations, and directors of other education foundations.
The Foundation found the results compelling enough to produce the
enclosed 12-minute video so that ICI Board members could see for
themselves what economics teachers are actually saying and doing.
The Board requested that copies of the video be furnished to all
Board members for use within their own organizations.
Please call Sue Duncan, Vice President of the Foundation,
202/955-3538, with any questions or comments. Thank you for your
assistance.
Enclosure: ICI Education Foundation video