The Investment Company Institute ran full-page ads last week in four national newspapers addressing the market volatility of recent weeks.
The ads urge investors to stick to their long-term investment plans and were to run April 11 through 13 in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Washington Post.
The ICI had planned to run different ads prior to the 500-point drop in the Nasdaq early this month. But after the sharp market movements, the institute decided to revise the ad to encourage long-term investing even in the face of high volatility, an ICI spokesperson said. The ICI has no plans to run other ads in 2000, the spokesperson said.
The ad's headline reads, "A Minute of Your Time, Please." The body copy reads: "Last year, a record number of fund investors achieved extraordinary investment returns. . . Lately, the stock markets have moved up and down sharply, sometimes in a single day. . . We urge investors, especially those who are investing for long-term goals such as retirement or a child's education, to keep recent market movements in perspective. We also urge investors to identify their tolerance for risk and invest in a manner consistent with their long-term investment plans."
