ICI President’s Remarks, Society for Financial Education and Professional Development

ICI President's Remarks

Eric J. Pan
President and CEO
Investment Company Institute

Society for Financial Education and Professional Development
17th Financial Literacy Leadership Conference

October 17, 2025

Thank you, Ted, for that kind introduction, and thank you to this great organization for the work you do.

I want to start by saying how grateful I am to be among colleagues and partners who are on the front lines of financial education. The student ambassadors in this room, along with your faculty sponsors and fellow educators, are doing the critical work of bringing financial literacy to communities that need it most. You're not just learning about investing—you're teaching it, living it, and spreading that knowledge through your campuses, your families, and your communities. That ripple effect is exactly what we need more of, and it's why I'm honored to be here today.

The Investment Company Institute represents the interests of individual investors and the asset management industry that serves them. We advocate for the millions of Americans who are working to build their financial futures through long-term saving and investing. My organization fights every day to ensure that investing remains accessible, safe, and affordable for people from every walk of life. We see you as essential partners in that mission.

The unfortunate reality is that millions of Americans could benefit from basic financial education. The need for greater financial literacy isn’t just a problem; it’s a crisis. We need every American to fully understand the benefits of long-term investing, for their own sake and for the sake of our economy. We need to show more people the path to saving for the future—especially those who’ve been underserved or overlooked. 

This is why I’m grateful for the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development. You are tackling this crisis head-on. So, I’d like to applaud this organization for empowering Americans with financial literacy.

We are gathered at a remarkable moment in financial history. Technological progress is rapidly lowering barriers to investing, making financial independence accessible to millions more people. Everyone in this room has in their pocket access to more information and investment options than the top stockbrokers on Wall Street had just 25 years ago. We are on the verge of the true democratization of finance. It’s one of the most exciting economic trends of our time.

But here’s the challenge we face together: Not enough Americans know about these trends. Not enough Americans know about their options, which are growing by the day. And not enough Americans are making the most of this remarkable moment. They could be investing to make their lives better—from buying their first home to paying for their children’s education to securing a more comfortable retirement. Instead, they’re on the sidelines, missing out on a lifetime of wealth building.

As educators and advocates you know that investing is not reserved for the elite few with formal financial education. It’s not just for business school graduates with corner offices. It’s for everyone, and the data tells a compelling story about what happens when people start investing early and stay invested for the long term.

Let me give you some numbers you can share when you go home for the holidays. Over the past 30 years, the S&P 500 has averaged approximately 10% in annual returns. At that rate of growth, your money doubles roughly every seven years. That's not a complicated formula or a secret strategy—it's just the power of compound returns and staying invested.

Here's what that means in practice. If someone invests $1,000 at age 25 and lets it grow at that average return, by age 70 they'd have approximately $78,000. But if they wait until age 35 to make that same investment, they'd have only $38,000 by 70. Starting just ten years earlier doubles your retirement savings.

Even recent history proves this out. Investors over the past three decades have lived through the dot-com crash, the Great Financial Crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic—three of the most severe economic disruptions in modern history. Consider someone who invested $1,000 in the S&P 500 in 1995 and kept up that same level of investment every year since. Despite weathering all three crises, they would have approximately $279,000 today. Consistency and patience pay off.

Those are heartening statistics, but there are also facts that keep me up at night. Last year, a nationwide survey found that less than 50% of Americans can pass a basic financial literacy test. That number has actually dropped over the last five years. In 2020, 52% of Americans were financially literate. Now only 48% are. If most people can’t answer the most basic questions about their finances, it’s highly unlikely that they’re making the most of investing opportunities, if they know about them at all.

However, some long-term trends are promising. My organization has found that 53% of households own mutual funds, which are foundational for retirement and long-term saving. That number reflects some real progress, because in 1980, only 5% of households held mutual funds. Even in 2020, the number was about 45%, so we’ve improved by nearly 10 percentage points in the last five years. But it’s equally clear that we have an enormous way to go. 

There are people that want to get started. These are the people we have to reach. And these are the people you’re working to reach, with great success. You know better than anyone that financial literacy needs to start early. If someone only learns about investing when they’re 55, it could be harder for them to achieve their financial dreams. Even if they start in their 40s, it can be hard to build a solid retirement nest egg. The best way to help Americans save for the long-term and achieve real financial security is to reach them while they’re in high school and college. If we give students the knowledge and tools they need by the time they’re 20, their lives will be transformed by the time they’re 60. And passing along this skill to families can be a powerful tool to help instill a foundation for financial success in the next generation. 

It’s especially important to empower young people from diverse communities. Going back decades, women and communities of color have lagged behind in their rates of investing. Historical barriers have played a big role, and breaking those barriers is vitally important. Financial literacy can play a powerful role in doing just that, and we know from experience that it gets results.

Studies show that financial literacy programs have a demonstrable impact on people’s financial behavior. They also make clear that if this education starts in school, it’s most effective at making a long-term difference. Put simply, if young people learn about the power of investing, and are given a clear pathway to invest, they are significantly more likely to pursue that path for the rest of their lives.

And in fact, a rapidly growing number of people are taking that path. In the past few years, there has been a dramatic increase in women opening retirement accounts, with a nearly 50% rise between 2019 and 2023. Younger women are driving this shift, with a 99% increase in Gen Z women investing for the long haul. We’re talking about people who are in their late teens, early 20s, or mid-20s, and a big reason why they’re investing is because they learned financial literacy in their formative years.

There are exciting signs of progress in communities of color, too. Today, 41% of households that purchased their first mutual fund shares after 2019 are Black, Hispanic, or Asian—a major shift from the 13% of first-time fund buyers before 1990. The share of ETF-owning households in these groups mirrors the U.S. population overall, underscoring a financial landscape that’s become increasingly representative of the broader American experience. Once again, Gen Z is responsible for much of this growth. It’s a powerful testament to financial literacy programs that are giving them the tools and confidence to invest.

We can all take pride in this progress. But we also need to double down, for the sake of reaching all those young people who don’t yet know about the promise of investing. I know that SFEPD will continue to provide financial education and professional development, and I’m grateful. I’m also confident you’ll continue to innovate, like you did last year by creating the Mind over Money Skills certification program. Investor Education is a key component, and I look forward to seeing how you expand your efforts nationwide. 

ICI is committed to actively helping the next generation make the most of the many investing options at their disposal. The ICI Education Foundation is a non-profit-organization formed to advance the financial well-being of individuals by strategically partnering with organizations and participating in initiatives that increase financial literacy and promote the importance of saving and investing. Our partnership with the Society for Professional Education is one of our most long-standing and valued collaborations. As we’re making clear, it’s never been easier or more affordable to invest for the long term. And there have never been more options or products that can meet a young investor’s interests and needs.

If you can’t tell, I’m a true believer in educating Americans about how they can achieve a future of financial independence. This is among the most important issues of our time, with national ramifications—but at the end of the day, it’s about individual people achieving their own unique financial dreams. So, I want to close by emphasizing the personal impact that investing can make in people’s lives, and why it matters that we welcome every American into that experience.

Last year was the 100th anniversary of the mutual fund in the United States. It was a major milestone in financial history, and in the course of our celebrations, I spoke with the president of the company that introduced the first mutual fund, all the way back in 1924, MFS Investment Management. 

She told me that her company had recently been contacted by a retired woman whose working-class mother—a teacher—had invested in two of their mutual funds in the mid-20th century. When her mother passed away, she inherited the funds. To this day, they are the foundation of her own retirement, and thanks to her mother’s long-term investing, she has had a lifetime of financial security, too. In her own words, she’s had “peace of mind” for her “whole life.” And she says that when you learn about investing early in life, you’ll “never worry about where your next meal is coming [from] when you’re old.” In the scope of human history, that’s an incredible statement.

My friends, this is the power of investing for the future—and this is why financial literacy is absolutely essential. By reaching those who’ve been left behind, and by helping the rising generation get ahead, we can transform their finances, and really, their lives. And by helping them rise, we’ll lift up our entire economy, and the country as a whole. 

Thank you again for your commitment to this cause, and for the progress you’ve made. I look forward to digging deeper in our fireside chat.