FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  98-26


                                  Press Contact:
                                  John Nester (202) 942-7083

  National Roundtable on Saving and Investing Scheduled in
                      Washington, D.C.
    Public forum will chart course for financial literacy
                          campaign


     Washington, D.C., March 24--An unprecedented campaign
to motivate Americans to "get the facts" they need to
achieve financial security will commence with a first-ever
National Roundtable on Saving and Investing on Monday, March
30, in Washington, D.C.

     The two-hour forum, featuring leading voices from
government, business, consumer organizations, and the media,
will address ways to overcome critical barriers to saving
and investing wisely.

     Among key barriers, according to the Employee Benefit
Research Institute's 1997 Retirement Confidence Survey, is
that three out of four American workers have no idea how
much money they need to save for retirement.  Most
respondents said that they were afraid of the answer,
considered the process too complicated, or didn't have the
time.

     U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur
Levitt, a roundtable participant, said that while Americans
are increasingly responsible for their own financial
security, millions lack the basic information they need to
achieve it.

     "The best way to achieve your goals is to know where
you are headed financially," Levitt said.  "We hope to
create a road map to financial security for every American."

     In addition to Levitt, participants will include
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky, New York
Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso, NASD President Frank
Zarb, North American Securities Administrators Association
President Denise Voigt Crawford, and other experts.

     The Roundtable will be the first of a week-long series
of national and community events in nearly every state to
launch the "Facts on Saving and Investing Campaign."  The
campaign's kickoff week will culminate with a National Town
Meeting on Saving and Investing held simultaneously in more
than 20 cities on Saturday, April 4.

     Securities regulators from twenty-one nations in North,
Central and South America and the Caribbean will also offer
investor education programs in their countries during the
week.
                              
     For more information, including a list of state-by-
state activities and town meeting sites, visit the
campaign's website at
www.sec.gov/consumer/cosra/getfacts.html.
                              
                              
                              
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Attachment:
List of Roundtable Participants



                              
                              


List of Roundtable Participants:

Arthur Levitt - Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Robert Pitofsky - Chairman, Federal Trade Commission
Olena Berg - Assistant Secretary, Department of Labor
Brooksley Born - Chairwoman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Denise Voigt Crawford - President, North American Securities 
       Administrators Association
Richard Grasso - Chairman, New York Stock Exchange
Frank Zarb - Chairman, National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.
Dallas Salisbury - President, Employee Benefit Research Institute
Margaret Dixon - President, AARP
Stephen Brobeck - Executive Director, Consumer Federation of America
Tom O'Hara - President, National Association of Investors Corporation
Heather Ruth - President, The Bond Market Association
Alexandra Lebenthal - President, Lebenthal & Co.
Don G. Powell - Chairman, Van Kampen American Capital, Inc.
John W. Rogers, Jr. - President, Ariel Capital Management
Michael Lipper - President, Lipper Analytical Services
Don Phillips - Chief Executive Office, Morningstar
Jane Bryant Quinn - Syndicated Columnist
Maria Bartiromo - Anchor, CNBC
Humberto Cruz - Syndicated Columnist