The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) presented the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) with the 2008 award for “Most Investor Education Outreach Presentations Made” at the organization’s Investor Education Training Seminar this week in Philadelphia.

The OSC reached 16,900 of people with 54 presentations during the reporting period that spanned October 2007 through April 2008.

Since NASAA began tracking investor education outreach efforts by the membership in November 2006, more than 293,718 consumers have been included in 2,192 presentations, with 41 of 67 member jurisdictions reporting.

As part of an ongoing commitment to investor protection, OSC staff make presentations at events and trade shows across the province. These presentations are part of the OSC “Check Before You Invest” campaign that integrates community outreach, advertising, public service announcements and investor information. The campaign urges investors to research their investment decisions, starting with OSC investor resources.

NASAA is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. Its membership consists of the securities administrators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, and Mexico.