February 10, 1989
TO: DIRECT MARKETING COMMITTEE NO. 5-89
PUBLIC INFORMATION COMMITTEE NO. 2-89
SALES FORCE MARKETING COMMITTEE NO. 4-89
SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE NO. 3-89
RE: IRA Promotion
__________________________________________________________
During our recent meetings in San Francisco, a number of
you spoke about the importance of continued promotion of the IRA
concept. Members of the Direct Marketing Committee and Public
Information Committee expressed particular interest in
encouraging existing shareholders of mutual fund IRAs to
consolidate non-mutual fund accounts into their mutual fund
accounts.
To encourage financial writers and reporters to pick up on
this theme, we will soon be issuing a feature news release about
consolidation of several IRA accounts into one. We would
appreciate any suggestions on how best to convey this message --
as well as examples of what is already happening in this area.
In addition to the importance of encouraging consolidation
of IRA accounts, we are also continuing our efforts to overcome
the misunderstanding that many Americans have about basic IRA
eligibility. To deal with this issue we are redistributing our
TV and radio public service spots on IRA eligibility that were
heavily used by many stations last spring.
You may also be interested in the enclosed letter, which
points out that a so-called expert provided TV viewers with
misinformation about IRA eligibility. We plan to write similar
letters to others who confuse IRA eligibility with deductibility
in news stories and TV/radio interviews. You may want to do so
as well.
L. Erick Kanter
Attach.