News Release

Toronto, ON – Over 65,000 young people across Canada will be invited to take a unique online quiz between February 21 and March 21 2005 to learn about the importance of saving and investing money for their future.

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has developed the TYFIQ (Test Your Financial IQ) quiz with students ages 15 to 21 in mind. “Young people are the group who can get the most benefit from saving and investing now because they have more time to make their money work and grow,” said Stephen Sibold, Chair of the CSA.

The quiz, available at www.tyfiq.ca [link no longer operational], features questions and facts about budgeting, saving and investing in a format that will appeal to students. Teachers will be encouraged to use the TYFIQ quiz as a fun and informative learning tool.

“The age group we are targeting is already sold on interactive computer games. Our quiz combines engaging graphics, interesting facts and the draw of a number of great prizes to teach and motivate students to learn more about important financial concepts,” said Sibold.

Young Canadians who take the TYFIQ quiz and achieve a score of 60 per cent or better will be entered to win a personal digital camcorder. A total of 13 winners will be drawn from this pool (one winner per province and territory) and each winner will be invited to produce his or her own short video promoting the benefits of budgeting, saving and investing. The producer of the winning video will be awarded a $2,000 cash scholarship.

The 13 contest judges will be selected from eligible quiz participants across Canada and each judge will receive a personal DVD player.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, coordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

Their mandate is to protect investors from unfair or fraudulent practices through regulation of the securities industry. Part of this protection is educating investors about the risk, responsibilities and rewards of investing.