Would you like to win $1,500 worth of free investments? Are you in a local investment club? If you answered yes to both questions, all you have to do to qualify for a chance to win the free investments is to register your investment club with the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) as soon as possible.

If you are not yet in an investment club, it's not too late to qualify for the draw. Form a club with your friends or business associates, register it with the BSX and you, too, could be eligible for the free stocks and shares.

The winning club will be selected in June on the Investors Radio Show by the programme's host, the Rev. Fred Hassell, who will make the random draw live on the radio programme.

Rev. Hassell will be celebrating the conclusion of a second successful year at the ZBM studios for his investment radio show.

"The aim of the programme is to lift high the flag for long-term investing, particularly in Bermuda,'' explained Rev. Hassell, who wears many hats in pursuit of his work for the senior community. "We want Bermudians to learn how to own a piece of the rock.'' He explained how his financial radio show had its genesis.

"We started investment clubs at Admiralty House back in the early 1990s,'' said Rev. Hassell. "That led to concerns about planning for retirement among Bermuda's senior citizens.'' 1999 is being celebrated by the United Nations as the International Year of the Older Person and Rev. Hassell, who is the director of the Admiralty House seniors' programme, is co-ordinating activities in Bermuda.

He said that a survey of Bermuda's seniors, carried out some time ago, showed that less than 16 percent, or one in six, derived any income in their retirement years from investments.

Does that mean that Bermudians do not have the savings habit? "I think that Bermudians have traditionally tended to save their money in real estate,'' said Rev. Hassell. "Today's seniors come from a generation of savers, although I am not so sure about newer generations.'' Rev. Hassell began to take an interest in investments for seniors a few years ago, as he developed an understanding of their financial habits.

"Part of my fieldwork in investor education was to study the way in which seniors made their investments and the degree of education available on the subject,'' he explained.

Concerned that a lack of suitable investment education might be hampering local seniors, Rev. Hassell approached the BSX a couple of years ago, with a view to expanding his work in radio. Three times a week, he presents `Sixty-something' a seniors' radio programme addressing all matters of interest to Bermuda's older community.

"The BSX were keen to have me develop something on investments, and from that interest, the Investors Radio Show was born,'' said Rev. Hassell.

Investment clubs are a growing activity in Bermuda. Clubs are formed when like-minded individuals come together to pool their finances and make investment decisions as a club. There are very few rules, other than those adopted by the members of the club and a dose of common sense.

Club members investigate stocks, bonds and other investments which they think might make money for the club, and then recommend purchases to the members.

Clubs usually meet regularly and follow, at least initially, fairly conservative investment strategies.

All clubs registered with the Bermuda Stock Exchange by later this year will be eligible for the draw.

Owning a piece of the rock "All we need is for the name of the club to be registered with us, along with the name and contact number of the responsible individual,'' said Joanne McPhee of the BSX. "We also ask for the name of the club's local investment advisor, to enable us to confirm that the club indeed exists.'' The winning club, drawn by Rev. Hassell, will receive their own choice of shares quoted on the BSX to a value of $1,500, courtesy of the BSX, which sponsors Rev. Hassell's radio show.

To register your investment club, or to learn more about how to form an investment club, call Joanne McPhee at the Bermuda Stock Exchange, on 292-7212.