FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      97-22

                          Press Contact:
                          Christine M. Niedermeier (202)942-7040

     SEC CHAIRMAN ARTHUR LEVITT,  CONNECTICUT OFFICIALS  TO
          SPEAK AT CONNECTICUT INVESTORS'  TOWN MEETING
                                
 More American households are investing in the markets than ever
                             before.
   Record $3.5 trillion  invested in mutual funds exceeds U.S.
                    commercial bank deposits.

      Washington, D.C., March 25, 1997 --  On Monday,  April  14,
1997,  U.S.  Securities and Exchange Commission  Chairman  Arthur
Levitt; U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd and U.S. Senator  Joseph
I.  Lieberman, and Connecticut Banking Commissioner John P. Burke
will  hold  an Investors' Town Meeting at Quinnipiac  College  in
Hamden, Connecticut.  The public is invited.

      "As more Americans put their money in the market, they must
be  informed  and  must understand their investments,"  said  SEC
Chairman  Levitt, adding that informed investors are better  able
to   protect  themselves  against  potential  fraud  and   abuse.
Chairman  Levitt  will  offer basic tips to  help  people  invest
wisely,  monitor their investments, and avoid problems.  He  will
also discuss the questions people should ask before they invest.

      The  Connecticut Town Meeting is being hosted  by  Chairman
Levitt, Senators Dodd and Lieberman, and Commissioner Burke.   It
is part of a national series of investor town meetings being held
by  the  SEC  to  promote public understanding of the  securities
markets  and the risks and rewards of personal finance.  Senators
Dodd   and  Lieberman  will  address  investment  issues   before
Congress.   Commissioner Burke will describe  recent  Connecticut
investor protection initiatives.

     The Town Meeting will be held at Quinnipiac College, 275 Mt.
Carmel  Avenue,  Hamden,  Connecticut in the  College's  Athletic
Center.  Registration and investor education displays  will  take
place  from  8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.  The Town Meeting will  occur
from  9:00  a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  Investment seminars are scheduled
from 11:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Members of the press are invited to
cover these events.

     Admission is free, but reservations are required and seating
is  limited.  To reserve a seat, individuals may contact Margaret
Lohman  by telephone at (800) 505-0527, by fax at (800) 871-3221,
or  by  e-mail at boston@sec.gov.  For further information  about
the program, contact Christine M. Niedermeier, Deputy Director of
the  SEC's Office of Investor Education and Assistance, at  (202)
942-7040.

      The Town Meeting forum enables securities officials to hear
directly  from investors on how government can better  serve  the
investing  public.   The  SEC and the Connecticut  Department  of
Banking  are charged with protecting investors.  Senator Dodd  is
the  Ranking  Member  of  the Banking, Housing  &  Urban  Affairs
Committee Subcommittee on Securities, while Senator Lieberman  is
a strong proponent of investor education.

      Co-hosts  for the event are Ralph A. Lambiase, Director  of
the  Connecticut Department of Banking's Securities Division, and
John L. Lahey, President of  Quinnipiac College.

      The  New  Haven Register, The Bristol Press,  The  Register
Citizen, The Herald, The Middletown Press,  and The Herald  Press
Sunday  are  sponsoring this event.  The Steering  Committee  for
this    event   includes   representatives   of   the   following
organizations:

     Alliance for Investor Education
      American  Association of Individual Investors,  Connecticut
Chapter
     American Association of Retired Persons
     American Savings Education Council
     American Stock Exchange
     Association for Investment Management and Research
     Connecticut Bar Association
     Connecticut Center for Economic Education
      Connecticut Society of the Institute of Certified Financial
Planners
     Greater New Haven Chamber of  Commerce
      Greater  New  Haven Chap. of the International  Assoc.  for
Financial  Planning
     Hartford Society of Financial Analysts
     Investment Company Institute
     National Association of Investors Corporation
     National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
     National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.
     National Association of Securities Dealers Regulation, Inc.
     National Association of Securities Professionals
     National Investor Relations Institute
     New Haven County Bar Association
     New York Stock Exchange
     North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc.
     PSA: The Bond Market Trade Association
     Securities Industry Association
     Securities Industry Foundation for Economic Education
     Securities Traders Association of Connecticut
     The NASDAQ Stock Market

                          #     #     #