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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 30 ,2 02 1 | 8 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca insidehalton@metroland.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeav @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Directors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Graeme MacIntosh CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-845-3824 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Advertising: 289-293-0620 Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. Letters to the editor Send letters to insidehalton@metroland.com. All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at insidehalton.com OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM A screech owl finds a nice resting place on Maplehurst Avenue. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Ian Somerville photo SNAPSHOT There is a strong ele- ment of fear when it comes to investing. If your entire portfolio is invested in one or two stocks, the risk of losing most or all of your money should be a significant concern. Many investors today understand the advantag- es of owning an extremely well-balanced, diversified portfolio. Historically stocks have performed very well. The S&P 500 index repre- sents the value of 500 large publicly traded companies in the U.S. The average annual return is close to 10 per cent annu- ally since it was estab- lished close to a century ago. The worst one-year de- cline was 43 per cent. The index lost value one out of every four years. It gained value three out of every four years. That is a fairly positive outcome. Regardless, in- vestor fear can be magni- fied for many reasons. Investors are more dis- couraged by losing than they are pleased by an equal gain. When some- one experiences a finan- cial loss because their portfolio declined in val- ue, they often start think- ing stocks are too risky. The stock market might reverse and post monthly gains, but still that negative perception can persist. Fear is a real part of in- vesting. Understanding your own temperament can be a good guide when you invest in stocks. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Cap- ital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. Investment prod- ucts are provided by AC- PI. ACPI is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessari- ly those of ACPI. Watson provides wealth manage- ment services through Watson Investments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- s.com. AFRAID OF LOSING YOUR INVESTMENTS? FEAR OF LOSING MONEY A REAL CHALLENGE FOR INVESTORS, WRITES PETER WATSON PETER WATSON Column It's about trust. Our rela- tionship with our readers is built on transparency, hon- esty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This column is part of that project. Journalism is all about connections. Connecting with -- and being connected to -- the community are important facets of our work. The in- formation we seek, the re- lationships we build and the public we serve all give purpose to our efforts. Earlier this year, the Burlington Post, George- town Independent, Milton Canadian Champion and Oakville Beaver connected with people from across Halton to talk about some of the most pressing issues affecting the region. This group formed Hal- ton's Community Advisory Council, local leaders who value community connec- tions just as much as we do. When the council met virtually in May, members provided this newspaper with insightful feedback on a wide range of issues, including trust and trans- parency in local media, di- versity and inclusion, de- velopment and infrastruc- ture, human trafficking, gender-based violence, among others. Our conver- sation inspired us to branch off into three sub- committees to further probe these important top- ics. We entered into sub- committee discussions with the goal of better un- derstanding these oft-com- plex issues and, with the help of members, identify ways we, as your commu- nity newspaper, could bet- ter raise awareness and ef- fect change. Our conversations were engaging, informative and illuminating, prompting us to turn our journalistic lens on several topics of great importance to the Halton community, its resi- dents and our readership. Among several editorial initiatives, including fol- lowing best practices to en- sure our work measures up against uncompromising journalistic standards, we are keen to sink our teeth into special projects start- ing early in the new year. First up, journalists will take a close look at Halton's job market, shining a light on the local employment and job vacancy rates. We'll connect with job seekers and employers to gain a better understanding of the current landscape, high- light any labour pains and potential solutions that could help alleviate these. To celebrate Black His- tory Month, we're teaming up with the Halton Black History Awareness Society to host an essay-writing contest for local youth. We'll also work closely with the Halton Multicultural Council on a series focused on newcomers to Halton and their contributions to the community. We look forward to con- necting with residents and readers on these important topics -- and many more -- in the new year. We welcome your ques- tions and value your com- ments. Email our trust com- mittee at trust@metro- land.com. Catherine O'Hara is deputy director of content for Metroland. STRENGTHENING OUR LOCAL CONNECTION CATHERINE O'HARA Column