The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Contact: Rod Jerred Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 5559) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: rjerred@haltonsearch.com W l I >NI SI JAY. AI * 1<11. I<). K >2 · I I )| BU SIN ESS Change to affect investors There has been a recent change in the investment industry that will affect mil lions o f Canadian investors. If it does not affect you directly then it will affect your neighbours or som eone you know. AGF, the seventh largest mutual fund com pany in Canada, is Peter Watson going to lose its star sub-advisor Brandes Investment Partners. Brandes manages $10 billion for AGF which is close to one-third of its total assets. Brandes Investment Partners has con sistently delivered outstanding investment performance and is one of the most highly regarded money managers in this country. The four funds managed by Brandes accounted for 79 per cent of AGF's total fund sales last year. Very soon after announcing its inten tion to stop managing money for AGF, Brandes Investment Partners announced that it will be starting its own Canadian mutual fund company by the summer of this year. Typically a fund company does three things. It supplies investment man agers. distributes these managers to the investing public and provides adminis tration and reporting to their investors. Now we have a very well respected manager with a strong "brand" starting its own fund company to deal directly with the end consumer. It will distribute itself instead of using AGF for that pur pose. Brandes' success now rides on its ability to sell its funds without AGF. but given its strong track record and reputa tion. that will not be a problem. The interesting question is why would it do this? The incentive to Brandes Investment Partners is simple. It eliminates AGF and thereby increases the company's profits and controls its own destiny. In contracting to manage money for another mutual fund company Brandes runs the risk of being replaced if its per formance numbers should slip or for any other reason the mutual fund com pany would have. If it can have direct relationships with millions of investors its position is much more secure. While Brandes leaving AGF to start its own company is a significant change for investors in its funds, it is yet anoth er example of typical changes that con tinue to occur in the industry. Time will tell how this will actually affect investors. AGF is conducting a world-wide search to find new money managers o f a calibre to replace Brandes. Based on the strength of the new managers, investors will have to decide whether to hold or sell their invest ments. When making a decision of this nature it is best to consult with your financial advisor so you understand the full implications of such a change. Peter Watson, MBA, CFP.RFP is the president o f peter Watson Investments -- an Oakville firm specializing in retirement planning. RRSPs, and invest ment planning. Wendy's is proud of new salad lineup By Sherry McGratten SPECIAL T O TH E BEAVER DOLLARS & SE\SE Riziero Vertolli · Oakville Beaver Sharon Reid-public relations co-ordinator for Wendy's Restaurants says the chain is giving consumers what they want with a new salad lineup. Wendy's Restaurants has a new salad lineup that is described with one phrase, "high quality." Wendy's Garden Sensations consist of the Mandarin Chicken. Chicken BLT, Taco Supremo, and the Spring Mix sal ads. After the salads were rolled out as a test at Wendy's locations across British Colum bia, salad sales dou bled, says Sharon Reid, W endy's pub lic relations specialist from the com pany's C anadian head office in Oakville. Following their success in British Columbia, the salads were gradually distributed to the 340 Canadian fran chises. As of February all Canadian loca tions have the new salads. Reid said initial sales are doing "very well." "We're giving consumers what they want," she says. The salads are aimed at the 18-to-45year-old female market. Reid says this is because the female population tends to watch diet and desires more food variety with an added "taste experience." According to company studies, the salads are not only popular with regular customers, but also with those saladeaters who don't frequent fast food restaurants for salads. The salads are made fresh, all day. says Reid, and come with either low fat, reduced fat or fat-free salad dress ings. Taco chips, salsa, rice noodles, almonds and honey-roasted pecans accompany the salads. All extras are served in individually wrapped packages to prevent possible allergens from "contaminating" other products. Reid says. Reid comments these aren't "tradi tional" salads and that the Garden Sensations lineup brings out the best in salads. T here's a lot o f variety in these sal ads, says Reid, some have romaine lettuce with iceberg lettuce, grape tom atoes, cheese, cucum bers and onions. Reid says due to the air-tight plastic container, the salads are convenient to take-out. The containers, she adds, are also re usable for storing food in the fridge. This isn't Wendy's first foray with salad. In 1979, Wendy's introduced a salad bar where customers could dine in and in 1992 Wendy's created Fresh Salads to Go for those customers. Wendy's is promoting its new prod uct through an extensive advertising campaign on national television, radio, print and in-store point-of-purchase banners. The latest television commercial has a new format since Dave Thomas recently passed away, Reid says. The commercial has been running for a few weeks. The commercial is "pretty generic" and it doesn't target any specific group, says Reid. The television com m ercial focuses on the salads when the cam era quick ly scans over the "vibrant" colours of the salads and creates an effect which Reid says, reminds her o f a child's top rotating. "It's very cute," she says. The suggested prices for the salads are $5.99 for the Mandarin Chicken, and Chicken BLT, $4.99 for the Taco Supremo and $3.99 for the Spring Mix salad. Fashions change in time but not the friendly faces By Sherry McGratten SPECIAL T O THE BEAVER Contrary to its name. Karen's Dress Boutique started out on the rented front porch of a hair salon and sold bathrobes and home wear. Twenty-five years and three locations later, the store's origi nal owner, Karen Kristoff is still going strong. As part of her 25th anniver sary in business, K ristoff is offering 25 per cent off every thing in Karen's Dress Boutique, located at 2416 Marine Dr. Over the years, Kristoff, the owner, says she's seen an evolu tion of clothing. Shortly after opening, Kristoff noticed her customers were expressing more interest in evening than bath wear. So Kristoff began selling dresses. Over time, within the bou tique. Kristoff comments that "dresses have taken a backseat to sportswear." "Clothing has become more casual, less structured," Kristoff says. Concerning the type of cloth ing her store sells, Kristoff says she specializes in "easy wear, easy care clothes" and sells to the over-30 crowd. Kristoff also sells some consignment cloth ing. She says her clothes are "in the middle of the road in age and in price." The boutique also sells a spe cial line of clothing. Ultra Violet (UV) protective clothing, which Kristoff claims her store was the first in Oakville to begin selling in 1987. The UV protective clothing is treated with inhibitors in Europe then imported by Sunveil Sun Wear of Oakville, from which Kristoff buys the line. Kristoff confides that staying in business in the past few years has been a challenge. "A lot of my original cus tomers don't need the wardrobe they once needed." she says. She comments that the events of Sept. 11 affected her business, as well. "People have tightened their purse strings and aren't buying as much clothing," Kristoff says. Kristoff is looking forward to the spring and summer months, a time when people are around the harbour and business always picks up. Kristoff has fulfilled her dream of owning a boutique, a dream which she'd had since high school. After getting mar ried and having two children. Kristoff didn't think she would ever own a store. But as fate would have it, she was on a business trip with her husband in Japan when she met a man from a Toronto-based gar ment company. After she told him about her dream boutique, he offered her the clothes she needed to open the store. K ristoff says, "I've been there for all o f my regular cus tom ers' important occasions over the past 25 years. The friends I've made along the way have made it (working) all worth while." As for the future. Kristoff says, she's looking toward retire ment and pursuing her online UV protective clothing mail order business. Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver After 25 years and three locations, Karen Kristoff is still going strong as the owner of Karen's Dress Boutique. POSTAGE STAMP SHOW STAMPS, COVERS & POSTCARDS at the Queen Elizabeth Building CNE Grounds April 12, 13 & 14, 2002 Open, transfer-in or renew You Can't Knock A a 5 year Variable Rate Closed Mortgage with FirstOntario Credit Union, and enjoy a mortgage rate of 1.25% FBI 11 AM 6 PM I SAT 10 AM - 6 PM / SUN 10 AM - 4 PM FREE ADMISSION DOOR PRIZES Presented by: The Canadian Stamp Dealers' Association Bankruptcy Blowout Sale K .D . Finlay C lothier Lim ited, Fine Men's C lothing Mortgage below prime for the first 6 months, then .25% below prime for the balance of the term! Convert to a closed, fixed-rate mortgage at any time during the term with no interest penalty. -10 75 0 /0 o ff Items for Sale include: Suits, Jackets, Rants, Shirts, T-Shirts Sweaters, Leather Jackets, Ties, Belts Sale Starts T hursday April 1 1th Located at 384 ftarl Sc. Burlington (Comer of ftari and Lakeshorc) Sale conducted by BDO Dumroody Limited, Trustee in Bankruptcy Hours: Thursday. Friday: 12pm-9pm, Saturday. Sunday: 10am-6pm FirstOntario The Right Mortgage. Right Here, Right Now! For Details Call 905-844-4881 Conditions apply. See branch for details. E. & O.E.. I A