Pae8. Whil4y rFieePrfess, Wekuday, Febnaly 23.,199U WIfTBY FREE PRESS Quaker Qats chair at meeting Jon K. Grant, chair of the Quaker Qats Company of Canada Ltd., will begiuest speaker at a meeting in Whitby on March 3. Grant will diseuse 'Business and the. Environment -- A Chai- leng fo anagemnt'at the meeting of the uhmRgo ManufacturersAsoIton. Grant is chair of the Ontario Round Table on the. Environment and Economy. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception. Grant will speak at 6:30 p.m. and dinner is at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $40 for members, $45 for non-members. For more infor- mation call 434-1412., Global tocus on investments lby Paul Svana Investing the allowable' portion of your IWSP outaide Canada cen improve tbe growth rate cf your plan. However, it is difficult for îndividual investors ta, purchase stocks and bonds on foreign exciienges. A simple alternative is available in the form of global mutual funds set up by Canadien mutual fund compamies worldng with foreign investmnent managers. The range of foreign or global flunds is, expanding steadil, giving pri1"at investors a i range from which to choose. Investors can participate in the. fast-growing markets of the Flcff im and China or turn their attention ta Europe. Recently a number of new mutual fund emerged which concentrate their investments in countries of Latin Ainerica. The passage of the. North American Free Trade Agreement will b. very beneficial for economic growth . cf these countries. International mutual fund managers employ the talents of investment analyste throughout the. world. The analyse's Ao is ta research basic trends in the global economy, interest rates, inflation and then ta, assea where and how much of capital should b. invested in any one particuler sector or country. Through global mutual funds, investors benefit from expert knowledge cf international money anfaïsonal money manage- ment has long been available only ta, large institutions and wealthy investors. Global mutual funds make tbis kind cf financiel expertise* accessible te all private investors. When diversifying your portfolio ta, a wider range of markets, you will reduce volatility qr risk in your portfolio and, at the same time, you will enhance your performance. When you select an experienced money manager and chorne a basket cf global mutual funds for your portfolio, you will tap inta exiting imarkets. MVtal fundsbhave been a favoured investinent for RRSPs as they are well-suited ta the long-termi objectives cf a retirement portolio. Paul &ana is an inveat me ni advisor with Richardson Greenshweld, Oshawa. Your Financial Heaith Derek Dutka Start contributions earlier Procrastination is the single biggest cause of low retirement income. Begin RRSP contributions as soon as possble. The more contributions you make, the larger the valueof your RRSP at retirement. The cost of procrastination can be significant. For exarnple, if you begin making annual contributions of *3,500O at aqe 25 and earn a return of 12 per cent per year your RRSP will b. worth $2,684,000 at age 65. However, il you wait 10 years before startinq annual contributions ($3,500 per year at 12 per cent return), it will be worth $844,000 at 65, a différence of more than $1,800,000. Let's lower the rate to 8 per cent per year. A 25-year-old contributing $3,500 to aae 65 would amans $906 698. Starting at age 35, hie or she would accumulate $396,491. fi the investor waited until 45 to start, the RRSP wôuld grow to only $160,167. The niagic of compounding hias an almoit unbeievable effect on the value of an investment. One more example: Assume there are two investors, bMs. Early and Mr..Pokey. Ms. Ea-rly decides at age 25 to invest $3,000 a year into an RRSP. She continues to invest $3,000 annually for the nextt five yemr and then, for some unknown reason, stops contributing, b ut leaves the RRSP intact. Mr. Pokey doesnt start investing in his RRSP until hie is 31. From ae 31 to 65, h. makes annual contributions of $3,000 to his RRSP. Both investors have picked similer investments that provide an annual return of 12 per cent. Whose RRSP do you think will b. worth more at age 65 (remember Ms. Early made a total of six investments of $3,000 while Mr. Pokey made a total of 35 annual investments $3 000)? Ãyou jguessed Mr. Pokey, you're right. However, the difference is surprisingly smal -- only $10,700. Ms. Early bas $1,439,689 and Mr. Pokey, $1,450,389, which emphasizes the imotace of starting your RRSP contributions early. ltesnever too late to begfin a good plan. Oeil a financial planner today to find out how you can get started. Dérék Datka is a financial consultan t in the Ohitby/ Osha wa UNITED w »tdy AGF WORKING VENTURES Canadian CANADIAN FUND INC. Internatn Bolton Tremblay TRIMARK TEMPLETON Term Deposits Insurance Funds Your most valuable RRSP contribution could be the one 1 make... "Independent advce!"' Get the most out of your RRSP Cail now for your complementary RRSP check-up. 'p Derek Dutka 11 ÀBuge hge JORDAN PERRY, 2, gets a big hug from Bugs Bunny at the grand opening o Ambassador Video Saturday. The store isIocated in the Loblaws Plaza at Rosslandi Road and Garden Street. Photo by Mark Reeso, WhItbv Free Press ial ma