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Fun, sun and 401(k) help
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November 22, 1999: 6:22 a.m. ET
Many people are using vacation cruises to learn about financial topics
By Staff Writer Martine Costello
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Dr. George Boll trekked across a glacier, bagged 16 salmon and soared up a mountain in a cable car while on a vacation cruise to Alaska. And, in between those adventures, he got a little help with his IRA.
Some people on vacation might want to escape reality. But Boll, a surgeon from Ohio, is one of a growing number who uses vacation time to learn about personal finance and investing.
"It's a very good way of getting some education, and it's a good time," Boll said.
There aren't any statistics, but Continuing Education Inc., a non-profit organization in New York, schedules about 100 educational trips a year on cruises, said Sandra Scheitinger, chairwoman of the organization.
Some people are looking for personal enrichment, while others are accountants or other professionals who get credit for the classes, Scheitinger said. People in some fields are required to take a certain number of education courses each year to keep up their certification, she said.
Scheitinger said the speakers have included Marshall Loeb, former editor of Fortune and Money magazines; John Rekenthaler, research director at Chicago fund-tracker Morningstar; and columnist Jane Bryant Quinn, among others.
The lectures and workshops take place on the days that the ship is at sea, Scheitinger said. In the evenings, the guest speakers rotate to different tables to give everyone a chance for one-on-one chats.
Besides financial programs, there are also programs for doctors, accountants, lawyers, or architects, Scheitinger said.
As part of Continuing Education's University at Sea program with Holland America Inc., there are programs on infectious diseases; watercolor painting; writing your memoirs; and breast imaging. Dr. C. Everett Koop, former surgeon general and the founder of drkoop.com, is running a program called "The Excellence of Aging."
Sheldon Jacobs, a mutual-fund expert and editor of the newsletter No-Load Investor, will be one of three speakers on a cruise to China and the Far East in the spring. "Learn to get rich (and serene) on a slow boat to China," a pamphlet for the trip reads.
"Passengers want to know what to do with their money," Jacob said. "For people who want to learn, it's a great place to do it."
A brochure from Jacob's cruise
Fund giant T. Rowe Price also has organized two to three trips a year since the early 1990s, said spokesman Edward Giltenan. The company invites noted financial experts as well as some of its star managers to attend.
"It's another prong in our strategy of educating investors," Giltenan said.
The T. Rowe Price cruises have included names such as Rekenthaler and Loeb, as well as Chip Morris, manager of the T. Rowe Price Science and Technology Fund; and Larry Puglia, manager of the T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund.
Giltenan said the programs feature tax and retirement planning, since many of the people who attend are older investors.
Boll, the Ohio surgeon, recalled lectures about personal finance issues such as estate planning and taking distributions on your IRA. His wife, a nurse, also participated. There might be a session of an hour or two in the morning, and the same amount of time in the afternoon.
Of course, retirement planning is hardly as stunning as Alaska's coastline, Boll said. But the courses were a nice alternative from other activities during his days at sea.
"After a while you get tired of doing the same things on a ship," he said.
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