TRENTON
– Attorney General Peter C. Harvey
today kicked off a new program through
which the Office of the Attorney General’s
Bureau of Securities will teach investor
education to thousands of high school
students throughout New Jersey.
Attorney General Harvey and Franklin L.
Widmann, Chief of the New Jersey Bureau
of Securities, introduced the new program,
called “Consumer University, New
Jersey,” to hundreds of students
during assemblies today in the auditorium
of Ridge High School in Basking Ridge
and the gymnasium of Westfield High School
in Westfield.
Eighteen other schools from throughout
New Jersey will be chosen to participate
in the new education program during the
remainder of the 2005-2006 school year.
“By
teaching students good financial habits
now, we can start them on the path to
a stronger financial future and keep them
out of crippling credit card debt,”
said Attorney General Harvey. “Young
people understand the power of money when
they spend it, but we want to teach them
how they can multiply their spending power
by saving money and investing wisely.
The sooner students learn the power of
saving, the sooner they can begin to take
advantage of opportunities in the future.”
Consumer University is an assembly-style
presentation for high school students
designed to create teen investors out
of teen spenders. The program facilitator
is Alicia Haus, a former financial service
industries regulator. Personal stories,
geared to teens, are used by the presenter
to illustrate how money that teens could
save now by forgoing certain luxuries
could grow into a small fortune by the
time they reach middle age, if the money
is invested wisely.
“A
teen who understands the fundamentals
of informed investing and realizes the
benefits of compounding interest at a
young age is more likely to make wise
spending and saving decisions as an adult,”
said Bureau Chief Widmann. “We’re
excited about the opportunity to make
these life lessons engaging and something
that teens can relate to.”
The New Jersey Investor Education and
Protection Program is funded by a grant
from the Investor Protection Trust (IPT).
The IPT is a nonprofit organization devoted
to investor education. Since 1993 the
IPT has worked with the States to provide
the independent, objective investor education
needed by all Americans to make informed
investment decisions. For further information,
visit the IPT Web site at www.investorprotection.org
The program is part of the New Jersey
Investor Education and Protection Program,
through which the Bureau of Securities
brings investor education programs directly
to citizens throughout the state to teach
them how to invest safely and smartly.
For contact information about this program
or for scheduling investor education events
by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities,
call 1-866-838-6240 or
reach them on the Web at www.NJSecurities.gov.