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Wednesdsay March 17, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C3 (Q Successful Investing with Patrick McKeough Investor Learning Centre sem inars set TIP OF THE WEEK: "Every Canadian investor should own at least one bank stock.' In praise of bank stocks Many investors have underestimated Canada's bank stocks this decade. They see the banks as a mature industry, like department stores or electric companies, with little growth potential. This helps explain why bank stocks are as cheap as they are in relation to their earn­ ings and dividends. In fact, the banks are still some of the cheapest high-quality stocks available. WHY THEY'RE GOOD I take a more favourable view of bank stocks, and have recommended them again and again in this decade. They have unusual growth potential, due to three key factors: 1. Improving technology and productivity. Faster, cheaper computers cut data processing costs for banks. This is a big part of their total expenses. Automated teller machines cut their labour and real-estate expenses. Banks are just beginning to profit from Internet commerce. 2. Deregulation and business diversification. Banks are just beginning to profit from growth in investment, insurance and other financial services. They were legally barred from most of these activities as recently as the 1980s. 3. Wealth accumulation by babyboomers. As the post-war generation ages, its members just naturally acquire ever-larger investment portfolios. Some of this money just naturally turns into fees and commissions for the banks. On bank mergers Last year's proposed bank mergers would have let banks cut costs all the more. But Ottawa's rejection of the mergers doesn't hurt the banks' long-term potential. ► Banks are unlikely tooffer the fast growth you might expect from a successful computer maker or software publisher. But their stock prices have doubled or better in the past couple of years, beating Canadian stock market averages. They will likely continue to outperform the rest of the Canadian market over the next few years and provide above- average returns for a k>wer-than- average risk. The non-profit Investor Learning Centre o f Canada (ILC) is offering two non-promotional investment courses for Ontarians confused about their RRSP investments. The two courses, Intelligent Investing Level 1 and Intelligent Investing Level 2, cater to everyone from beginner investors to more experienced individu­ als. The courses have been developed and reviewed by the Canadian Securities Institute, the national educator of Canada's securities industry. The courses are taught by senior investment professionals, licensed and trained by the ILC, who are bound by a strict code of conduct to keep the semi­ nars completely non-promotional. The Level 1 course costs $165 and includes three books and a student binder, covers the basics of investing in six weekly sessions of 2 1/2 hours each. The advanced Level 2 course, recom­ mended for graduates of Level 1, costs $200 and lasts eight sessions. Level 1 courses all begin at 7:15 p.m. and go from: March 17-April 21st; April 13-May 18th and May lOth-June 21st. Level 2 courses run from: March 16- May 4th at 7 p.m.; April 8-May 27 at 7:15 p.m. and May 5-June 23rd at 7:15 p.m. For more information on course dates, times and locations individuals can call toll free 1-888-452-5566 or visit the ILC web site at www.investor- leaming.ca Established in 1996, the ILC is Canada's only independent, not-for- profit organization dedicated to provid­ ing non-promotional investment infor­ mation to the general public. It is fund­ ed through revenues from its low-cost programs and by an endowment from the Canadian Securities Institute. GRAPHICS SYNDICATE 1V3O 1999 A /tP rau International Patrick McKeough is author of Riding The Bull and editor of The Successful Investor, a monthly Investment newsletter. For further information, call 1 -800-579-4246 or visit http://www.thesucce33fullnve8tor.com March is National Nutrition Month Who are you talking to?Eal VVcU' LKie WeU •,/or a ufetT' By Dave Anderson SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER You are busy. You have a million details to attend to and here comes the salesperson from the paper. You know you need to advertise but you don't have time right now so you say, "Just take last week's ad, change the graphic and run it again." This is not exactly what we mean by effective communication. It is how­ ever, 1,000 times better than not advertising at all. Surveys have indicated, if you are not in the customer's face at least every 14 days, your positioning in their minds begins to deteriorate. You cannot afford to have that happen so an orphan ad that really doesn't have a goal is better than no ad at all. At least you are reminding them that you exist. The primary benefit from advertis­ ing comes from 'hits'. The number of times they see your name and logo and hopefully your face. On the other hand, advertising is a significant expense and you should be striving to maximize the return from every ad you place. That requires thought and planning and it isn't that hard. Begin by stating the ad's goal or objective in writing. Be specific. What is it you hope this ad will accomplish? Perhaps you want women to read it. Perhaps you want to use your headline to pull businesspeople or boaters into reading the copy. You may want them to visualize having the product in their homes or showing it to their neigh­ bours. Setting a specific goal targets your audience. If you aren't quite sure who you are talking to, it is difficult to achieve the results you want. Targeting everyone means every­ one in general and no one in particular. Forget it. They are not all going to want your product. Pick a target audi­ ence and focus your message to them. If you set realistic objectives, you will not be willing to let a weak imitation ad consume your selling opportunity or your advertising dollars. Think about what you are doing. What is the circulation of the paper? Business machines find a home (C o n tin u e d from p a g e C 1 ) the most recent being Anglo Typewriters which closed its doors after 39 years. Like Caiger, the owner of Anglo was bom in England and served a lengthy apprenticeship there. "We had to know how to fix them all," Caiger says of his early days in the business. "If we couldn't get a part, we made it. Nowadays, people are trained to work on one brand of machine. If you're an IBM guy, you fix IBMs." Caiger points to two key elements for survival in the ever-changing business of office machines. The first is having the know-how and ability to diagnose the problem. "If you can diagnose it you can fix it" is his motto. The second is servic­ ing what you sell. "We don't just sell a box," he stress­ es. "Everything comes with a 12-month on-site parts and labour warranty. We deliver, install, and train." If there's a downside to being one of the few "fix it" guys left around, it's that his territory extends from Hamilton to Pickering and all parts in between. Museums, government offices, pris­ ons and Queen's Park all represent steady clients for Oakville Office Machines. Caiger says you come to know each machine and its idiosyncracies which makes you more proficient at repairing them. Along with veteran employees like Mike Mead who is also British- trained, Caiger says he feels confident that he can fix just about anything. His current challenge is a vin­ tage 1920's "comptometer", an old-style adding machine with incredibly intricate workings. Caiger says he usually takes on pieces like this only as a personal favour because the repairs are often so time consuming. He knows the day will come, howev­ er, when there will be no one left around with the training to repair some of these remaining metal dinosaurs. T h e B u s in e s s ^ D o c t o r How many of those people could buy what you are offering? How can I move them to action? The key is defining the benefits the consumer will gain from using your product. When your ad is done, go back and check it against the objectives you have set. If you don't think it achieves what you were trying to do, improve the ad. Take the time. The benefits go to your bottom line. Dave Anderson is available for sales meetings and annual conferences. CAII 705-526-7661. Jo in us fo r H a lto n 's ealthy Eating Fair Saturday, March 27, 1999 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Glen Abbey Recreation Centre 1415 Third Line, Oakville (just north o f QEW) Presentations, Cooking Demonstrations, Food Tasting, Local Restaurant Exhibits, Displays, Prizes and More ... for more info call Halton Regional Health Dept. . (905) 825-6060 ext. 7887 TTY 827-9833 all proceeds go to Food for Thought - Halton School Nourishment Program Sponsored and presented by: Halton Regional Health Dept.. Halton Healthcare Services, Choices 4 Health, Dietitians of Canada, Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Diabetic Assoc., *7 00 Canadian Sugar Institute, Dairy Bureau of Canada, _ Ontario Eeg Producers, Loblaws, . * 8 Sandra Seville Nutrition Consulting U per You are in vited to a tten d 2 free seminars on urology issues: "Bladder Matters" Thursday, March 25, 1999 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Product Displays, Refreshments 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Program Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital Auditorium Reduced rate for parking: $3.00 flat fee Made possible by an educational grant from: Pharmacia Sc Upjohn Understanding Prostate Cancer' Thursday, April 1, 1999 6:30 - 7:00 p.m . Displays, Refreshments 7:00 - 9:00 p.m . Program Ramada Inn and Convention Centre, Oakville Free Parking Made possible by an educational grant from: ZENECA PHARMA Inc. Halton Pharmacy BOTH FEATURING: Dr. Richard Casey, Urologist and o ther guest speakers Call to reserve a seat: 3 3 8 -4 3 7 9 Presented by: Canadian Cancer Society - Oakville Unit Halton Healthcare Services/Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital Site Urology Resource Centre - Burlington Site A l l o w US T O SHED S OME E I G H T ON T H E U P C O M I N G ( H A N G E S IN T H E E E E C T R K I T Y I N D U S T R Y . V ;j. You may or may not have heard about it, but Ontario's electricity industry will be open to competition in the year 2000. So how will it affect you? It means quite simply that you'll soon be able'to shop around fo r the best service and the best price from a number of different power suppliers. As part o f these changes, Ontario Hydro will become two completely separate companies: Ontario Power Generation, responsible for generating power and Ontario Hydro Services Company, which will look after delivery, retail sales and service. An Independent Electricity Market Operator will be established to ensure reliability of the system. Experience shows that increased competition brings with it better prices as well as new and improved services and technologies. And with more choice out there in the market, the power will truly be yours. For a brochure with more information, visit our website at www.hydro.on.ca or call 1-888-927-4477. Ontario Hydro THE POWER OF CHOKE. QNTARIOrOWiB GENERATION a O ntarioHydroS e rv ic e sC o m p a n y http://www.investor-leaming.ca http://www.investor-leaming.ca http://www.thesucce33fullnve8tor.com http://www.hydro.on.ca