Dash for the Stash Investor Education and Protection Program

2,000 PARTICIPATED IN “DASH FOR THE STASH” INVESTOR EDUCATION AND PROTECTION PROGRAM IN LIBRARIES IN FIVE STATES AND D.C.

$1,000 Contributions Provided to Six Participants in “Scavenger Hunt”-Like Contest Organized by Investor Protection Institute and State Securities Agencies.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 20, 2015 – A total of 230 public libraries and other locations in the District of Columbia (DC) and five states – Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska – took part in the 2015 DASH for the STASH investor education/protection program and contest conducted by the Investor Protection Institute (IPI) and state securities agencies.

The unique, “scavenger hunt”-like contest attracted an estimated 2,000 individuals at participating locations who learned and then were quizzed about key investing topics – financial fraud, building a nest egg, selecting financial advisers, and the cost of investment fees. From the pool of nearly 500 people submitting completed responses, six individuals – one in each participating state and D.C. – were selected to receive $1,000 IRA contributions.

The 2015 DASH for the STASH campaign expanded on the original, one-state pilot push in 2014 in the state of Iowa. In addition to IPI, the scaled-up 2015 program involved the efforts of the Connecticut Department of Banking, the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking’s Securities Bureau, the Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s Securities Department, the Iowa Insurance Division’s Securities Bureau, the Office of the Missouri Secretary of State’s Securities Division, and the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance.

IPI President and CEO Don Blandin said: “This program grew rapidly in one year from a single state to five states and the District of Columbia. We have received feedback from participants on what they learned about saving, investing and protecting their nest egg from reading the DASH for the STASH posters. We are delighted that they are so excited to share the information with their family, friends and other members of their communities. We look forward to being an educational resource for all of the DASH participants in the future.”

The six winners of $1,000 IRA fund contributions are:

* Connecticut. The winner in Connecticut is a 58-year-old woman who played at the Meriden Public Library. When asked about her experience, she said: “It was easy to participate in and I learned something new from each of the posters, which made investing less confusing.”

* District of Columbia. The winner in DC is a 36-year-old-man who found out about the 2015 DASH for the STASH through the Internet. At the Takoma Park Neighborhood Library, he was able to locate and review the DASH posters, correctly answer all of the questions, and win an IRA contribution to help him start saving for retirement.

* Illinois. The winner in Illinois is a 20-year-old woman who saw the DASH for the STASH posters and entered the contest at the Harrisburg District Library. She said: “I did not have an IRA yet, but have been saving up to start one. I am so excited to be able to add my savings to this $1,000 and finally have an IRA.”

* Iowa. The winner in Iowa is a 49-year-old woman who played at Kendall Young Library. When asked about her experience with DASH for the STASH, she said that “as a stay-at-home mom, I’m always looking for ways to help with our family’s finances and to teach my three children to be wise with their money.”

* Missouri. The winner in Missouri is a woman over the age of 60 who played at Hannibal Free Public Library. She said DASH for the STASH is a “valuable program to help and to educate investors.”

* Nebraska. The winner in Nebraska is a 43-year-old man who played at the Western Nebraska Community College Library. The winner said he enjoyed participating in the 2015 DASH for the STASH, as it was “fun to play, educational, and provided great links to many tools about saving and investing money.”

The DASH for the STASH contest and program works much like a scavenger hunt. But instead of collecting objects, players gather information and left answers to quiz questions. To play in the 2015 DASH program, participants went to participating libraries and other venues to find four posters. They then read each poster, accessed a related quiz question, and selected an answer. Participating libraries also displayed investor education and protection booklets provided by Kiplinger, the Investor Protection Institute, and the Investor Protection Trust.

Participating libraries included: Connecticut (33 sites); District of Columbia (four sites); Illinois (57 sites); Iowa (72 sites); Missouri (21 sites); and Nebraska (43 sites).

ABOUT THE INVESTOR PROTECTION INSTITUTE

The Investor Protection Institute (http://www.iInvest.org) is an independent nonprofit organization that advances investor protection by conducting and supporting unbiased research and groundbreaking education programs. IPI serves as an independent source of unbiased and non-commercial investor education and protection materials.

ABOUT PARTICIPATING STATE SECURITIES AGENCIES

The Connecticut Department of Banking (http://www.ct.gov/dob) protects users of financial services across a wide range of industries from banking to securities and investments, as well as multiple consumer credit businesses. The Department requires regulated entities and individuals to follow applicable laws, assures the safety and soundness of state-chartered banks and credit unions, and educates the public and other stakeholders to safeguard their own financial condition.

The District of Columbia (DC) Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking’s Securities Bureau (http://disb.dc.gov/page/securities) administers and enforces the District of Columbia’s laws and regulations applicable to securities offerings and investment professionals. DISB licenses and monitors investment advisers and their representatives and broker-dealers and their agents, and reviews certain public securities offerings in the District of Columbia, independently or in conjunction with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s Securities Department (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/securities/) is responsible for the regulation of the securities industry in Illinois and protection of investors by ensuring compliance with the law and investigating any complaints of fraud or improper practices.

The Iowa Insurance Division (http://www.iid.iowa.gov) supervises all insurance business transacted in the state. The insurance commissioner oversees companies and individuals in the sale of insurance in Iowa and has general control over all aspects of their business, from the forms they use to the rates they charge.  The Insurance Division also has statutory authority in its Securities Bureau over many activities related to the sale of securities and other regulated products in the state.

The Office of the Missouri Secretary of State (http://www.sos.mo.gov/securities/), through the Securities Division, is responsible for protecting Missouri investors from fraud and for ensuring firms and individuals selling securities comply with the securities laws in the state. The Commissioner of Securities leads the Securities Division and enforces the Missouri Uniform Securities Act, which is Missouri’s Blue Sky Law. The Securities Division is organized into three sections: investor education, enforcement, and registration.

The Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance (http://www.ndbf.ne.gov/index.shtml) was created by Nebraska legislators to regulate state-chartered banks and other financial industries within the state. In 1939, regulation of state securities laws was also placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Banking. Today, the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance regulates and supervises various financial industries on behalf of the State of Nebraska and its residents.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Patrick Mitchell, for IPI, (703) 276-3266 or pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: To see DASH for the STASH poster content, go to http://www.iinvest.org/programs/dash-for-the-stash/.