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42 Oakville Beaver Weekend Sunday October 17, 1999 To reach this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 Business As you may be aware, the governm ent lim its the am ount o f foreign invest ments you may hold in your RRSP to 20% of the assets in your plan. For the record, there is no logical reason, except politi cal, as to why we are limited to mostly Canadian invest ments in what is in effect our future pensions. Research has shown that having too much Canadian investments will, on average, decrease your long-term financial security. Over the past few months, I have heard two excellent com ments that summarizes the investm ent industry's feelings regarding this "crazy" RRSP rule that limits the foreign investment in our RRSPs. D uring a m eeting with other financial planners in Toronto, a know ledgeable researcher in the investment business acknowledged that the governments' reluctance to expand foreign investment options for RRSPs has been minimized by the creative savvy o f the investment com munity. Effectively, if an idea makes sense, the free enter prise market will find a way to deliver what is needed, and what we have needed for our RRSPs are more foreign investments. About six years ago, a new type o f mutual fund became available that allowed you to purchase international invest ments but were packaged as Canadian content in order to circumvent the government's 20% rule. This new type o f fund was approved by the government New RRSP eligible funds can beat foreign content rules PETER WATSON ment: W hen the concept of perform ing this specific adm inistrative maneuver in order to convert foreign investments to Canadian con tent was explained to a US investm ent executive, his com m ent was: "We were crazy!" It did not make sense to this person to take a perfectly good foreign fund and put it through this cost adding administrative maneuver. I agree it does not make sense; however, it is currently the only way for Canadians to get around the government's restrictive foreign content rules. If you have maximized the 20% foreign content within your RRSP and are seeking a way to enhance your returns, I recom m end investigating the new RRSP eligible for eign funds. Peter Watson, MBA, CFP, RFP is the president of Peter Watson Investments -- an Oakville firm specializing in retirement planning, RRSPs, and investment planning. He can be reached at 842-2100. Dollars & Sense and is perfectly legal. This past summer, the sec ond generation o f these RRSP eligible foreign funds became available from many mutual fund firms. Without getting too technical, an underlying existing international fund goes through a daily extra adm inistrative task and em erges as a Canadian investment for RRSP purpos es. Investors pay a small pre mium associated with the cost o f this investment structure. Now for the final com P h o to by B arrie E rsk in e F ion a F ish er D irector o f F u n d raisin g C am p T rilliu m , receives ch eq u e fo r $6050. from S an d ra O sm on d D o m in io n o f C an ad a, D en ise T h o rk ild sen A ccou n t M an ager V ince T om en son D ick erso n In su ra n ce B rok ers L td. (V T D IB ), and Steve L ey la n d C o m m ercia l A cco u n t M an ager, V T D IB . C am p T rillium w as esta b lish ed in 1984 to p rovid e a cam p en viron m en t fo r ch ldren w ith cancer, an d th eir fa m ilies to fo rg et ab ou t can cer fo r a w hile. S P E C IA L D O N A T IO N : Business Expo Oct. 2Jth-28th Do you need new ideas, services or prod ucts for your business? A re you thinking o f starting your own business or franchise, but don't know w here to start? At the 1999 Business Opportunities & Solutions Expo, you will find know ledge able people representing a variety o f seg ments in the business world! Learn how to use the internet as a m arketing tool; how to find the right em ployees; how to cut expens es; how to choose the right franchise and much, m uch more! Take a few m inutes out o f your busy day to visit the B usiness O p portunities & S o lu tions E xpo at the H oliday Inn, Burlington. This show is open to the public on Wed. Oct. 27th, from noon until 8 p.m. and Thurs. Oct. 28th. from 9 a m until 5 r> m Exhibitors will present information, prod ucts and services ranging from com puters and w ebsites to insurance and accounting. This w ide range o f exhibitors will readily provide "expert and innovative solutions." Sem inar topics include: "How to start your ow n sm all b u sin ess," "eB usiness Solutions for entrepreneurs," and "Legal issues for a small business," to name a few. P roud sponsors o f the B usiness Opportunities & Solutions Expo include the B urlington C ham ber o f C om m erce, The Business Executive, SM C Network, Boston Pizza and Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites. If you need further information, call the show p roducers, K elly A lexander Cnrnmi miration*; Tnr at 7T4-77^6 R o u n d -u p yo u r bill a t S ears fo r C h ild re n 's A id Foundation On Sun. Oct. 17th, custom ers shopping at Sears, Oakville Place will be asked if they would like to RoundUp their bill to the next nearest w hole dollar am ount to support Halton Children' s A id Foundation. W hen custom ers RoundU p their bill, Sears will m atch it. Sears is com m itted to supporting the family by working hard to help provide those im portant basics to children and youth. RoundU p is a Sears "Young Futures" program and this is one way that Sears O akville Place helps the Oakville community. H elp Sears H elp Kids. R oundU p your purchase to the next dollar when you shop at Sears O akville Place on Oct. 16th and 17th. liko reads classifieds? cW s-f* abotdr everqbodq/ A Beaver/Post classified ad reaches more than a quarter million readers. That's a lot of readers.