WRITTEN TESTIMONY
OF
THE SECURITIES INDUSTRY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION
AND
THE SIFMA FOUNDATION FOR INVESTOR EDUCATION
BEFORE
THE HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
HEARING ON
FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVES

APRIL 15, 2008

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)1 and Foundation appreciate the opportunity to submit testimony on the challenge of financial literacy and the efforts of our industry to meet that challenge. Investor education is a topic that the securities industry and SIFMA are deeply committed to addressing, and we are very proud of our accomplishments. Similarly, we support and applaud your efforts to improve Americans’ financial literacy.

SIFMA was born of the merger between The Bond Market Association (TBMA) and the Securities Industry Association (SIA). As a result, this testimony focuses on the programs conducted through the soon-to-be SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education, which will merge the programs, initiatives and partnerships of the charitable, non-profit Foundation for Investor Education (FIE) and The Bond Market Foundation (TMBA).

Importance of Financial Education

Unprecedented education reform has swept across America over the past decade as parents, teachers, legislators, and business leaders strive to improve instruction and curricula to help students learn. These efforts have resulted in new education standards, new performance indicators, and rigorous standardized testing that in most states will determine whether or not a student will be promoted or allowed to graduate. We fully recognize that classroom time is at a premium and that, above all, we must ensure that students learn, achieve, and gain the relevant skills to succeed in life.