CIBC PROGRAM TARGETS YOUTH
By Adnews Staff
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce unveiled a new program this week that aims to teach Canadian youth how to become financially responsible adults. Called SmartStart, the initiative includes a range of new financial products, designed for parents who want to save for their children's education. In addition to the financial products, the program includes a parents' information kit, a children's kit and an interactive Web site. The kits contains booklets with games and activities for parents and children, as well as tips parents can use to teach their children about money. Each of the four new financial tools has been designed specifically to allow parents and their children to save for the future. The four include: the MenuPlus Youth Account, the SmartStart Save Up GIC, the Mutual Fund Youth Portfolio and the Youth Investment Account. Both the kits and financial products are available at CIBC branches across Canada. A national TV campaign, in-branch materials and the Internet site are supporting the program's launch. Padulo Integrated Inc. of Toronto handled the campaign. SmartStart is designed to address concerns expressed by parents in an Environics survey for CIBC about how their children would pay for their education.