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

Facebook: avoiding the hype of new stock issues acebook was co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 while he was a student at Harvard University. Now at the age of 28, his social media company was valued at just over $100 billion, and two weeks ago a portion of the company's shares were sold to the public. Why would you want to invest a significant portion of your portfolio in one company and assume that investment risk? You are better off, from a risk perspective, owning a large number of companies or better still, owning the broad equity markets. That way if a company does not perform well, only a small portion of your portfolio would be affected. The downside is that you will miss out on the next Apple stock that has soared in value during recent years. Behavioral research shows that investors are significantly more interested in 15 · Friday, June 1, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com F avoiding risk than they are at trying to achieve a spectacular gain. Yes, we like the gains but we are far more interested in avoiding losses. Investors are conservative. That reality should influence our investing patterns. However, the decision to buy just one stock, even Facebook, is inconsistent with investors' desire to minimize risk. Why would you buy a newly listed stock that the market has not had the chance to price based on investor demand? The seller priced the stock and they naturally want to maximize the selling price. Initially the asking price was to be between $28 and $35 but with all the hype surrounding Facebook the asking price was increased to $38. The company then increased the number of shares to be sold by 25 per cent. Share price is based on supply and demand just the same as prices are determined in other markets. Investor enthusiasm pushed the price up. Shares of companies that are sold to the market often have a decline in value after the initial sale. In real estate terminology the stock is "staged" to look its very best. A lot of promotional effort is used to create a strong demand for the stock. After the stock is sold and the promotion stops the market will then determine its true value. That is normal. Shares of Facebook were sold at $38 and increased to more than $42 before declining back to $38. The share value was only maintained because the investment firm that took Facebook public was supporting the stock with orders to buy back the stock at the original offering price. A few days later, share Dollars & Sense By Peter Watson value decreased below $31 and a class action law suit was filed by shareholders claiming that the lead underwriting firm withheld negative Facebook information prior to the initial sale of shares. From an investment industry perspective, this is going to get messy. Welcome to the investment world of fear and greed. The regulatory bodies and lawyers will spend months if not years sorting this out. More importantly from an investor perspective, focus on your investment needs and the type of well-constructed conservative portfolio that will allow you to achieve your financial objectives. Avoid the sales hype of new stock issues. Avoid the temptation to buy just a small number of individual stocks. Investing is a serious business. Your financial wellbeing is at stake. There is enough risk with investing as there is -- avoid taking additional investment risk. -- Submitted by Peter Watson, MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI. The Regional Municipality of Halton www.halton.ca PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTRE Mid Halton Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction of Efuent Outfall Town of Oakville PR-2583B With the proposed expansion of the Mid Halton Wastewater Treatment Plant, Halton Region is proposing to install a new efuent outfall from the existing plant to Lake Ontario. A Public Information Centre will be held to provide residents with an opportunity to review the project drawings and to discuss any potential construction disruptions that may result from the proposed works. Representatives from Halton Region will be in attendance to answer any questions. The Public Information Centre is scheduled for: DATE: TIME: Tuesday June 12, 2012 6:00 p.m. ­ 8:00 p.m. Lifestyle Home Furnishings MASSIVE RENOVATION SALE UP TO HERITAGE SINCE 1977 SAVE 60 % PLACE: Oakville Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant 1385 Lakeshore Road West Oakville, Ontario If you are unable to attend this Public Information Centre and wish to obtain more information or provide written comments, please address your concerns to: Ms. Brenda Kingsmill Project Manager Wastewater Services Halton Region Telephone: 905-825-6000, Ext. 7622 Facsimile: 905-825-0267 E-mail: brenda.kingsmill@halton.ca Mr. Marc Gelinas, P. Eng Senior Project Manager Hatch Mott MacDonald 5420 North Service Road, Suite 200 Burlington, ON, L7L 6C7 Telephone: 905-315-3504 Facsimile: 905-315-3569 E-mail: marc.gelinas@hatchmott.com DON'T MISS THIS INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE LIMITED QUANTITY · IMMEDIATE DELIVERY 4205 Fairview Street, Burlington 905-634-5298 Making Halton a better place to live, work and retire. Gary Carr, Regional Chair www.heritagefurniture.ca Please let us know as soon as possible if you will have an accessibility or accommodation need at a Halton Region hosted event or meeting. 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville, Ontario L6M 3L1 Dial 311 or 905-825-6000 · Toll Free 1-866-442-5866 · TTY 905-827-9833 · www.halton.ca 010612