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tribune january 29 1997 p 9 money talk predicting the future for investing in canada there are many principles of investing but one of the best ones is the kiss principle keep it simple stupid if you set up reasonable asset allo cation among stocks bonds and cash add in some diversification among stock holdings andor investment approaches eg growth value domestic interna tional review annually to make adjustments to reflect the changing economic conditions and your indi vidual situation then go fishing in the last couple of years mutual funds have attracted unusually large amounts of money the industry is definitely in a growth phase anything involving a lot of people attracts a lot of attention often in the newspapers you will read head ing like stock market plunges or dow jones soars if we ever used these verbs to describe an elevator ride none of us would ever use them but we all know that powerful action words sell newspapers so in light of the above what can you can expect in 1997 there were strong stock market returns in 1995 and 1996 stocks are high in price in a lot of nations especially in the us where senti ment towards the markets and the economy seems fairly complacent with this in mind the contrarian is a bit nervous at a minimum this means that there is a lot of good news already priced into stocks us stocks have dramatically outperformed bonds in recent years furthermore the law of averages suggests that such ah extreme performance is not likely to last indefinitely it is unlikely the same stellar returns as seen in 1995 and 1996 will be achieved in 97 but this doesnt necessarily mean that the downturn is waiting in ambush bear markets down markets are usually triggered by a sharp acceler ation in inflation or poor corporate profits the current outlook for both in the major industrial nations is remarkably good maybe something that could sur prise us all is lurking out there an oil crisis comes to mind but there investors group david burke representative 6421027 rrsps estate and retirement planning are some strong factors sug gesting there is an imminent threat these include substan tial excess industrial capacity especially outside the us plenty of slack in labor mar kets a steady interestrate envi ronment and moderate global growth in other words the climate for equity stock markets is positive canada outperformed other major markets last year and could do it another year with improved trade budget and currency fundamentals as will as its potential to be one of the fastestgrowing economies in the industrial world this year boom bust or boring the bottom line for 1997 even if predictions of economic nirvana arent that far off the mark it doesnt necessarily mean the nirvana will continue in the financial markets if inflation picks up it will inject more volatility into the market historically five to 10 per cent corrections in equity markets like we saw last july have tended to occur about three times a year with that in mind the last few years of relatively smooth 80 of canadians arent happy with their financial affairs are you one of them if you include yourself in this group you need to speak to ron gerry ca today at the financial planning group let us help you get out of this picture helping you realize your financial goals sooner for a free financial consultation or second opinion on your portfolio ron gerry ba ca the financial planning group 37 sandiford drive suite 204 stouffville 9056428371 17 hevet instead o worry ing about making costly mistakes i take my return to hr block its not only hasslefree its practically foolproof because at hr block they guarantee their work in writing hr block s the right thing to do 3uarane 20 freel lane stouffville behind go station 6422927 under new management 65 brock rd uxbridge 8527409 sailing appear to have been unusually high boring as it may seem our base case for 1997 is neither boom nor bust we look for decent returns 10 per cent with a little more volatility this article was sub mitted by carol and signy of money con cepts in stouffville m independent thinking from your independent broker we offer a wide variety of products services from banks trust companies insurance industry mutual fund industry rrsps investment planning gics mutual funds seg funds income we do not charge fees for our services we can help you brianj evans financial services 38 toronto st n unit 2 uxbridge 905 8523184 18002680417 associated with triple a financial services brian j evans open monday friday 900 500 saturdays coring february 900500 livening appointments available uarntbesegbetsof 31sss 5vfe where to find financial security even with todays record low interest rates jerry white author and financial commentator for standard broadcasting cfrb jerrys only appearance in uxbridge season jerry will share secrets with you en beating the devastating effect of todays 3 gics bonds how to supercharge your rrif for maximum returns the best rrsp strategies for 1997 and beyond estate planning tips to keep the govt out of your pockets how to earn regular monthly taxprotected cash income low risk ways to maximize the return on your retirement nestegg free luncheon seminar register today wednesday february 5th 12s30pm the uxbridge library tokai room 9 toronto street south uxbridge lunch will be provided limited seatin6 please gall to reserve your seats today gall 4181 4124304 w m 4 presented by tom smirnis senior financial advisor fortune fortune investment corp 2075 kennedy road 6th floor scarborough on investment