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Build up By Jim Carmichael Canadians are enjoying the lowest rate of inflation in decades. In fact, the total for the year could average below two per cent. But having interest rates so law is actually a mixed bless- ing. On the positive side, the cost of living as measured by the Consumer Price Index is pleasantly low. Another major benefit 3 ome. low mortgage ral On the Cee "side, how- ever, is the fact pensioners living on fixed incomes are bitterly disappointed at the Jow rate of return they get from such investments as guaranteed investment. There’s nothing wrong with guaranteed investment cer- tificates. Quite the contrary. A certain portion of your. total investments should be in the form of GIC’s that reach maturity this year can- not be replaced with the same level of interest earned when they were purchased five or 10 years ago. Pensioners who are in this predicament deserve our sympathy. But they are DOUG MEAL 873-0300 authors of their own misfor- tune - because, they relied on a single type of investment. There’s nothing wrong with guaranteed investment cer- tificates.. Quite the contrary. A certain portion of your total investments should be in the form of GIC’s. Trouble arises if you put all your eggs in a GIC bas- ket. The only way to avoid such trouble is to build up and maintain a diversified portfolio of investments. This rule applies to pension- ers as much as it does to those Canadians still in the active workforce. If you are nearing retire- ment you should seek profes- sional advice to ensure that your ret retirement income is not over-exposed to one particu- today’ ‘ paper for these flyers: + Knechtel (Moore Park) * IGA (Acton) * Culligan Water Maid of the Hills Limited distribution in certain areas. Jim Carmichael lar factor, such as interest rates. You should consider investing part of your portfo- lio in bond, dividend and mortgage mutual funds. These types of funds allow you to hedge against both ris- Halton Hills This Week, Saturday, October 30, ‘1993 = Page 13 ‘snd ‘fnaintain a diversified investm ing and falling ae rates. Tnverests theretote,. ie seek e and ancial planners find that cis pen- sioners have obtained invest- ment advice at the time of bo retirement and from n on, stick with the estab- lished portfolio, In fact, an investment portfolio should be reviewed on a regular basis, ideally once a year. That’s because economic and stock market conditions are forever changing, which may require you to adjust the~ weighting of your portfolio investments: As well, tax rules are changed every now. and again, which may directly affect your after-tax income. It is in y our own best regular Agana cheek ups during your retirement years. You cannot afford to sit back and relax just because you had an initial retirement income plan drawn up. An effective plan.isn’t a static thing. It demands regular reviews and periodic adjust- ments. A sad fact of Canadian life today is that less than one- third of Canadians now in retirement are enjoying a comfortable standard of liv- . One reason for this lam- entable state of affairs is that only about 40 per cent of the workforce belongs to a pen- sion plan. The rest face-a PRICED - RIGHT! Now $139,900. Rec room, 2 walk- outs to rear, over- looking bush. 0100 Master ensuite, NATIONAL | ESTATE SERVICE 24 Hour Service AN Your Town & Country Specialist WAYNE — 519-856-4348 (24 hr.) Registered Relocation Specialist REMAN» Blue Springs Realty (Halto n) Corp. Realtor Independently Owned and Operated ent portfolio severe decline in their stan- dard of living when they retire if they are depending on the state to look after them in retirement. Even.when you combine the Old Age Security (OAS) and Canadian Pension Plan (or Quebec Pension Plan) monthly payments, your retirement income will be barely above Canada’s offi- cial poverty line. That’s why it is so impor- tant to adopt a long-range investment plan as early as possible and make sure it is reviewed on a regular basis. Jim Carmichael is a Financial Planner with Investors Group. He can be reached at 416-236-2564.