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B6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday July 19, 2000 Business To reach this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 Glaxo Wellcome president to head merged SmithKIine Beecham firm Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKIine Beecham has named Paul N. Lucas as head of operations for Glaxo SmithKIine Canada, following approval and com pletion of the merger. Lucas currently serves as president and CEO in Glaxo Wellcome, a position he has held since 1994. He joined Glaxo Wellcome in 1986 and has held several senior positions within the company. Under his leadership, Glaxo Wellcome became one of the top 25 investors in Canadian research and development and one of the top 10 corporate charitable donors in Canada. His many board and membership responsibilities include Select Therapeutics, The Ontario Science and Innovation Council and the Queen's University Council. He is also immediate past-chairman of the Board of Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies. The Lucas appointment will be effec tive immediately following approval and completion of the merger. The European Commission has cleared the merger of the two companies, subject to certain undertakings. Discussions with the US Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau are con tinuing. The merger, which is also sub ject to shareholder approvals and court sanction, is expected to be completed in the summer. PCL Plastics names new executives D E S IG N IN G W O M A N : Domaine Appliances recently played host to Kitchen designer Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, recognized as one of the industry's foremost authorities on kitchen planning and design. Here, she makes a point during her seminar. PCL Plastics Corporation has appointed Daniel (Danny) Borris and President and Chief Operating Officer. Borris replaces R.L. (Bud) Smith who left the firm on June 15th to pursue other interests. Borris oegan his career as an engineer with British Petroleum Tanker Company and later held management positions with Chrysler and American National Can. He was General Manager of Russel Metals, Quebec Region and most recent ly was Vice-president Operations of Minacs Worldwide, a call centre compa ny. He has also consulted on corporate training in problem solving, team build ing and strategy formation. PCL has also appointed Tim French ' as Vice-President Operations. He replaces Ross Chandler who has accept ed a position with an automotive parts company. French was trained as an extruder operator and has worked his way through several supervisory and managerial posi tions. He was most recently Vice-pres. and General Manager of Aimcon Ltd., a maker of hockey boards. French is currently completing an MBA program and expects to graduate next year. Don 't b e left in dark over mutual fund fees Investor education is one of the main objectives of the Ontario Securities Commission accord ing to Jack Geller, who is the vice-chairman of the commis sion. Promoting a better under standing of mutual fund fees is one way to educate the invest ing public. One of the problems the public faces in understanding mutual fund fees is that they are hid den. When you look at the return that you earned on your mutual fund investment, that Dollars return is reported after fees & Sense have been deducted. While I feel the end result is fair, you get to see your net return after fees, it does not allow you to see the spe cific amount of fees that you pay. A better way to inform investors would be to give the return and then deduct the Are you concerned about mutual fund fees? If so, now you have access to a new and free tool to help you understand the effects of these hidden fees on your investment return. The Ontario Securities Commission teamed up with Industry Canada's Office of Consumer Affairs and developed an on-line calculator that enables individuals to determine the total fees charged by mutual funds. The service is called Mutual Fund Fee Impact Calculator and is located on the Ontario Securities Commission website at www.osc.gov.on.ca. Go to "Investor Resources" and click on `Tools." The instruc tions on the site provides you with definitions you may not be familiar with and will walk you through the cal culator showing you the effect of fees on your invest ment over time. Understanding the underlying costs of mutual funds is important because so many investors are now using funds in their portfolios. Nearly half of all Canadians have invested in stocks and most have done so by using funds. PETER WATSON fees in order to show the actual cost of the mutual fund. Not only are fees hidden, there is a total lack of understanding of fees by the general public. Research done in Canada suggests that up to half of all mutual fund owners are not aware, there is an ongoing annual fee charged on their investment. Better disclosure of fees is just starting to appear. Many "wrap" accounts, which combine together sever al different investments into one package, show the spe cific charges. In my opinion, it would be better for investors if mutual hinds followed this practice. Management fees are charged for providing investors with professional management and a diversi fied portfolio. While the fees can be justified as a cost of proving this service, better disclosure would allow the public to be more knowledgeable when deciding in which funds to invest. Peter Watson, MBA, CFP, RFP is the president of Peter Watson Investments -- an Oakville firm specializ ing in retirement planning, RRSPs, and investment plan ning. He can be reached at 842-2100. 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