i wee Saturday, November 30, 1991 & What’s a mutual fund all about? Kent Parker Georgia Pacific Securities at | a 1 inve usually takes at least $50,000, a lot of investment experience, and a great deal of free time to monitor changes in market conditions as they happen. Right? Yet there is an attractive alternative for individual investors who have not got that much cash, time or ex- perience mutual funds. Managed by professionals, mu- tual funds enable investors to pool their money togeth- er and to diversify their investments while remaining liq- uid. By not concentrating all their money in one invest- ment, investors reduce their risk. As well, their money is available any time they may need it. In choosing a fund, the investor must decide which fund is most compatible with his or her personal invest- ment philosophy. Investors in Canada can choose from more than 400 mutual funds. They reflect a wide variety of investment philosophies from the ultra-conservative to the highly speculative. Their portfolios may include common stocks, bonds, mortgages, foreign common stocks, preferred shares, precious metals, treasury bills, real estate or a combination of these types of invest- ments. Each fund‘s portfolio is selected by a professional man- ager or group of manager who decide what to buy and sell. The majority of mutual funds in Canada are open- ended, allowing investors to invest or withdraw their money at any time. The number of shares or units a new investor receives depends on the value of these assets at that time. Of course, when new investors join a mutual fund, they add their money to the pool of the other in- vestors‘ contributions thereby increasing the funds‘ total assets. When a investor redeems his shares or units, the amount of money received depends upon the value of those assets then. Each unit or share, which represents a small fraction of the fund‘s total assets, has a net asset value known as NAV. The underlying value of the securities in the fund determines the value of the units or shares. The NAV is calculated by taking all the fund‘s assets, sub- tracting administrative expenses, and dividing the re- maining figure by the number of shares or units out- standing. Less popular with investors are closed-end funds. Unlike open end funds, these funds have a fixed num- ber of shares outstanding. They are usually traded on an open Stock Exchange and sell for less than their under- lying value. Closed-end funds have a limited following in Canada. The value of most open-end mutual funds is determined on a daily basis at the close of the stock markets. However, some are valued on a weekly basis while others, mainly fea- turing real estate investments, are valued monthly. Most mutual funds can be brought and sold on a daily base. Mutual fund investors are most often charged a fee for getting into the fund and for the fund's ongoing manage- ment. Some funds charge a sales commission, referred to as a “front-end load”, which can be as high as nine per cent but is negotiable depending on size. Yet some funds charge no “load” at all. Some funds charge “back-end” loads, a fixed percentage of the fund's value charged to the investor upon redemption of his investment. This percentage is variable and usually declines over time. Professionals continually debate whether “load’ funds out-perform “no-load’ funds. However, when mutual funds are bought as a long-term investment the “load” becomes very insignificant provided the fund delivers positive re- turns. Costs for the ongoing management of the fund general range from 1.25 to 2 per cent of assets plus administrative costs of your investment a year. These costs are reduced by the fact that the i its of th ds of shareholders are being d by one This is iderably less than the fees an investor would pay to his or her own professional money These fees are paid by the fund itself, not by individual accounts. When choosing a mutual fund, do so carefully. There are many funds in the market. Some have consistently per- Dairy farmers wage battle and strengthen Article XI” said Louis Balcaen, President of Dairy Farmers of Canada. “He has instead proposed to use tariffication as the means to settle the trade dispute in agricultural products. This proposal is totally unaccept please see Dairy page 27 Canadian producers of sup- ply-managed commodities strongly object to the“compre- hensive tariffication” ap- proach taken in the Draft Working Papers on Agricul- ture submitted last week by GATT Director General Arthur Dunkel. These papers are intended to serve as a basis for final ne- gotiations on agriculture for the current GATT round. “Dunkel”s working papers fail to reflect the position of the Canadian government in sup- port of supply management programs, that is, to clarify CASTLEGAR FOODS 10% OFF SENIOR CITIZENS DAY _ Tuesday, December 3* ‘flo s Maximum of $100 Purchase. Does Not include Tobacco or Fluid Milk) / FULL ~“ IN-STORE MEAT GROCERY DEPARTMENT SELECTION © Family Pack © Top Northern Country orange juice « No name ¢ 100s formed well, while others have not been consistent. a tea .49 bags 1 ¢ Pacific ¢ 385 mL canned milk mane 2/.99 ° Merit 454 g, 4 *noname ¢ lemon ¢ 5 Litre ° Fresh Bulk Pure * Tray Pack pork 49 sausage ‘ ae ib. 1 ° Eversweet sliced cooked ham 175 g. pkg. “ FRESH PRODUCE Golden Ripe bananas * No name ¢ 150's grapefruit Viscues OO cali 2:25 ~“ BAKERY Castlegar Foods white or brown sliced en OO part of the Castlegar Business Community! @ Saturtiayy November 30, 199 Bature ow N =] Easter Seals telethon back Who provides Easter Seal Buses? Who builds Easter Seal Houses? Who supplies Pa- tient Care? Who supports Development Cen- tres? Who enables Summer Camps? That who is you. And it could be you again when you con- tribute to the 15th Annual Timmy‘s Christmas Telehon, on Dec. 7 and 8 on CBC-TV. The who is also the likes of hosts Red Robin- son, Pat Boone, Sttu Jefferies, Scott Barratt, Phil Reimer, Laurie Thain, Geoff Edwards, Terry Moore, Julie Brown and Kevin Evans, who keep the show going strong through 21 straight hours, from 8 p.m. on Saturday until 5 p.m. on Sunday. They'll be welcoming a who's who of stars such as Shari Lewis, the perennial favourite children‘s entertainer with her pal Lambchop; Jerry Reed, noted for this appearance in ‘Smokey and the Bandit” and a string of hit songs that include “Amos Moses:” and “Whjen You're Hot, You're Hot“; Gary Puckett of “Gary siNEss CASTLEGAR FO CHAMBER OF ENTRE COMMERCE 365-6313 1955-6th Ave., Castlegar VIN 487 ) Cg Puckett and the Union Gap* fame, known worldwide for their gold records, “Young Girl,“ “Woman, Woman” and “Lady Willpower”; Ian ‘Tyson, the legendary Canadian singer-song- writer fe for the classics “ boys Don't Cry”, “Four Strong Winds,” “Someday Soon” and “Summer Wages”, Susan Jacks who formed "The Poppy Family” and went on to record the international chart-toppers “Which Way You Goin‘ Billy?”, “That‘s Where I Went Wrong“ and “Where Evil Grows”. First-class lo- cal entertainment will include The Suspenders, an acapella group and Laurie Thain, among » Many others. The Telehon’s honora: tron this i ge ry patron year is Timmy’s Christmas Telethon will be carried by DBUT Vancouv er, CKPG-TV Prince George, CHBC Kelowna,» CFTK-TV Terrace, CJDC Dawson Creek and CBC North. f-t4-tt ag Bluetoo [eq All beet patty, with lettuce, pickles. sheddar tomato and onions, ‘and bacon and served with 8. ‘Ail Our Prices include the G.S.T. wits HOURS: 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. 1521 Col. Ave. 365-8388 Please recycle The NEWS 4 Call Ahead Drive Through Service 4-4 GG a Pooper Ht ‘o CASTLEGAR &mazpa_ 713-17th St., Castlegar DL. 7956 CALL NOW COLLECT 365-7241 MAZDA— IT JUST FEELS RIGHT! COMMUNITY 1ST KINNAIRD BOY SCOUTS Christmas Short Story With Christmas just around the corner, we have the loan for that special gift. We offer competitive rates. CAST LEGAR |AVINGS CREDIT UNION Community Financial Cen\ Highway 6 Cs OU HOE Defensive Driving: Defensive Driving is the acquired skill that should be practised by every motorist if we are to reduce the horrendous annual losses directly linked to traffic accidents. Sat., Dec. 7, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., $80. CASTLEGAR 601-18th Street 365-7232 SLOCAN PARK FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER CALL: CASTLEGAR CAMPUS - 365-1261 Selkirk College Maceo BOO-2212 HAVE YOUR Ex STORY PUBLISHED IN THE CASTLEGAR NEWS! BY ENTERING THE Pp by the Casth I's simple to enter: Will be collecting non-perishable goods for the Ro yal Canadian Legion Christmas Food Hamper Drive in South Castlegar on Saturday, December 7. There will also be a collection centre in the Safeway parking lot. 2/96 ROBSON RIVER OTTERS BINGO Saturday, November 30, Castlegar Community Complex. Earlybird 6 p.m. Regular 7 p.m. Come have an evening of fun and support local swimmers : 295 saved." Coming events of Castlegar and District non- profit organizations may be listed here. The first 15 words are $5 and additional words are 30¢ each Boldfaced words (which must be used for There is no extra charge for insertion is half-price and the fourth and fifth consecutive insertions are only hall price for the two of them. Minimum charge is $5 (whether ad is for one, two or three times). Deadlines are 5 p.m. Wednesdays for Saturday's paper and 5 p.m. Monday for Wednesday's paper. Notices should be brought to the Castlegar News at 197 Columbia Ave. COMMUNITY age categories: December 21 Public Library and the Castlegar News A} * Just write a short story of up to 300 words beginning with the line: "The wind was howling on this Christmas Eve when Santa and his reindeer landed in my front yard." And ending with the line: "Santa returned the next day. leaving a simple note: “Thank you friend, for Christmas is * Mail or bring your story into the Castlegar Public Library or to the Castlegar News by | p.m. on Saturday. Dec. 14 * Include your name. address, age and telephone number. * The Christmas Short Story Contest has been divided into 3 — Eight and Under — Ages 9. 10.and 11 — Ages 12, 13 and 14 ¢ The three stories in each group chosen by y the judges as the best in each group will be published in the Castlegar News’ Christmas Greetings Tabloid on Saturday, * In addition, book certificates will be awarded as first. second and third prizes in each category a