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THE OAKVILLE BEAVER BUSINESS FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1993 PAGE 20 Fidelity _Far East Fund Mark Slipp, Investment Executive BURNS FRYummp (416 359â€"4633 SPREAD Sheet Business consultant Peter Wilson has been appointed Senior _ business _ Consultant responsible for ministry of Economic Development and Trade programs and services in Halton Region. In his capacity as Senior Business Consultant, Wilson will act as a link to the ministry helping companies access ministry programs and providing business advice. He will maintain open and ongoing contact with ministry stakeholders â€" companies, municipalities, economic development associations, and community colleges. His responsibilities also include identifying and reporting on local economic concerns, opportunities, and business trends. He brings to his new position extensive experience in both the private and public sectors. Wilson lived and worked in the Far East for more than 10 years, holding management positions in engineering and trading companies with Harrisons and Crosfield in Malaysia, as well as, the Inchape Group in Hong Kong. Wilson is based in the MEDT Hamilton Office and can be reached at (416) 521â€"7783. Businesses honored Eight downtown businesses have been named winners in The Pride Awards sponsored by the Downtown Oakville BIA. These firms have completed significant interior or exterior renovations to their business by honouring them with a "Downtown Oakville Pride Award." To be eligible, the business must have had the renovations completed within 1992 and they must be located within the boundaries of the Downtown Oakville BIA. The renovations these businesses do improve downtown Oakville as a whole and make it a more attractive and desirable area for conducting business, shopping or living. All qualifying businesses receive a framed document to place on their wall or on a counter and mention in BIA advertising. The 1992 Downtown Oakville Pride Awards are: Grabbajabba, 116 Thomas Street, Colborne Street Mercantile, 174 Lakeshore â€"Rd. E.., P Stationery, 174 Lakeshore Rd. E., Barbette, 347 Lakeshore Rd. E., Oasis, 225 Lakeshore Rd. E., Towne Square Salon, 216 Lakeshore Rd. E., To Set A Table, 182 Lakeshore Rd. E. and The Bearded Collie, 234 Lakeshore Rd. E. CA Oâ€"E’:;\n. :m,,l': L Company believes in charitable sponsorships By JACK A. HASEN Special to the Beaver "What‘s in it for us?" That is the question often heard within companies trying to make their budgets stretch further in these tough economic times. While many businesses are cutting back on their advertising and marketing budgets, the sponsorship of charitable organizations and events remains strong. For a relatively small investment, the sponsorship of an event accomplishes many things. It provides a company with the opportunity to customize its corporate message. It advertises the company name. It can be used as a promotional and marketing tool through the use of giveâ€"aâ€" ways, novelty items and mementos. But the most compelling reason for a company to sponsor an event is to give something back to the community, while being recognized as a responsible and committed corporate citizen. Initially, Slough Estates Canada was hesitant about developing a sponsorship program. We were not preâ€"sold on the benefits it would provide the Company. But after testing the ‘sponsorship market‘, we now feel that it is a valuable and (See ‘Community‘ page 21) For the third year in a row The Oakville Kelly Services office has donated free temporary help to five local nonâ€"profit organizations. The local office solicited nominations from their customers as well as community members and then conducted a random draw to determine the winners. Office manager Marianne Gilpin (second from left) congratulates the winners (I to r) Maureen Lyttle of the Halton Lung Association, Jackie Cutmore of Childfind, Edith Telford of the Oakville Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society and Frances Barnes of the Salvation Army. Missing is a representative of the Halton Children‘s Aid Society. Chambers host May energy forum Union Gas, funded by the energy users. the Oakville, Burlington, Ontario _ Ministry _ of Anyone wishing to attend Milton and Halton Hills Environment and Energy. or wanting more information Chambers of Commerce will The one day Energy should contact Karen host an Energy Forum on Forum is free to all Cutmore at the Oakville May 27th in coâ€"operation with Ontario Hydro and participants and is aimed at Commercial/Multiâ€"unit Chamber of Commerce, 845â€" 6613. Equity investments need careful study quity investments are both terrific Eand not so terrific. We will start with the terrific. A study from The University of Western Ontario studied investments from 1950 to 1987. The results were similar to other longâ€"term findings. Equities are a better investment than fixed income investments. In fact, equity investments were better than fixed income GICâ€"type investments 26 of 29 tenâ€"year periods. If your objective is to have some growth within your portfolio â€" you will need some equity. But if equities are so significantly better than fixed income, then why doesn‘t everyone own them? The reason is simple. Equities have several disturbing characteristics. Uncertainty and volatility are good examples. You never know what your return will be. Remember, the crash of October 19872 These things happen from time to time. A GIC allows you to know exactly what interest rate you will receive before you make the investment. This, certainly, is comforting and allows you to plan Wwriolyig LOAF future spending, based on interest that you will receive. In the Western study, fixed income gave a predictable 6% return while equities gave an uncertain and volatile 12%. Don‘t let the volatility be the only reason you avoid equities. If you invested in equities in 1950, a $10,000 investment would have grown to $700,000 by the end of 1992. By contrast, Treasury Bills and longâ€" term bonds would have grown to only $142,000 and $166,000 respectively. Volatility becomes less of a factor the longer you hold an investment. Of the 32â€" tenâ€"year periods from 1950 to 1992, there were no periods that lost. The worst two 10â€"year periods produced a return of just under 5%. In 18 THE PARADE PAGEANT OF ©BEAM 'Proud Sponsor of: 2 16 Feet Tall Puppets, Dragons, Cymbals, Horns, Banners Plan To Take Part periods, the return was 10% or greater. The important consideration is that equities are a longer term investment. Your holding period is critical. Yes, there will be some years that you will lose. But only once was there a loss two years in a row during the last 42 years: It seems you have to accept a little uncertainty to achieve growth. If you want growth and can accept some uncertainty, then you need equity. The final question is to decide how to purchase equity. Your two options are to invest in specific stocks or to purchase an equity mutual fund. Many people are purchasing mutual funds because a professional money manager selects the specific stocks. Plus, you purchase a diversified portfolio of many stocks. Regardless of your preference to own specific stocks or mutual funds, equity investments should be considered. Peter Watson, MBA, CFP, RFP is the president of Peter Watson Investments Limited â€" an Oakville firm specializing in retirement planning, RRSPs and investment planning. He can be reached at 842â€" 7602. SLOUGH ESTATES CANADA Principal Sponsor More details: 845â€"5585 Box #5906