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D4 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday February 23, 2000 Business To reach this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 * , -J i AGRA-AMEC union would create engineering powerhouse The Oakville-based engineering, con struction and consulting firm of AG RA I nc. has been bought by AM EC, Pic. of Britain for $ 5 14-million. The merger will create a world pow erhouse in the field with annual revenue o f $8.8-billion and projects around the globe. A G RA had $ 1.3-billion in fiscal 1999 sales and is com prised o f three divisions: engineering, environm ent and construc tion. T raditionally a construction firm , A M E C 's purchase will see it becoming more o f a design consulting and services com pany that is aiming at the $600-billion (U.S.) construction market. AM EC has indicated other sector purchases are likely. W ith the conclusion o f the deal, A M EC will become the w orld's thirdlargest engineering firm behind firstplace Bechtel Group Inc., and Fluor Daniel Inc. o f California. AM EC CEO, Peter Mason said the com pany will centre is Americas opera tion in Toronto and that layoffs, if there were any, would be few. The merger must still be approved by A G R A shareholders w ho have been offered $16 cash or 3 AM EC shares for their shares. Shareholders also have the option of receiving 3 shares of an AMEC Canadian subsidiary that will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. At their option, holders o f the exchangeable shares may trade them in for an equal number o f AM EC shares. Although the deal has already been approved by the boards o f both compa nies, it is still subject to court and regula tory approval. P h o to b y B a rr ie E rs k in e O akville B eaver production m anager M ark D ills (left) and special section coordinator K ym Funnel! ch eck out the p a p er's new on-line real estate section w ith real estate sales representatives A llan R oshko (second from left) and R ick Ribble. Beaver real estate section now on-line Staying ahead in a fast-paced world, the Oakville Beaver Real E state section has gone on-line (via www.OakvilleBeaver.com) for added convenience for home shoppers everywhere. The Real Estate section that people reach for when looking for a place in Oakville has expand ed its circulation from being delivered to every home, every week in Oakville, to now being delivered 24 hours a day, seven days a w eek to every com puter w orldwide. OakvilleBeaver.com is a community website providing information on community update event listings, highlights o f news events, movie/video listings, calendar of events, community profiles, and a classifieds section (including automotive ads, for rent ads, careers, employment, leisure living, for sale ads, services, and community notices). The latest informative addition to this already packed website, is the town's weekly Real Estate sections. With the Real Estate listings as an added feature to the Main M enu at www.OakvilleBeaver.com, you can now search Halton for a new home from the comfort o f home, through the use of your home computer. Get a feel for the market and know w hat's available before you start calling real estate agents. W hen you're ready, there are many links to various real estate offices throughout the town, all ready to help you find a place to call home. The main benefit of the new Web site is increased expo sure and fresh material every week. It will be interesting to see how this may change the way real estate agents do things. There's also the convenience factor for readers, more and more people spend time on the Internet. This will allow them to browse for homes at their leisure. If you've decided to sell your current home, and you're already advertising in the Oakville Beaver, you can take comfort in knowing that anyone with online access will be able to view your home. A significant advantage given the huge promotion and traffic this site receives. Now the Real Estate sections can reach far beyond the boundaries o f Halton Region, it can reach all across the world. Illustrating to everyone the splendors of this area, and some o f the great opportunities and properties available. Oakville Beaver Real Estate section, on a browser near you. For All Your RRSP Needs 1 Think about your goals when purchasing RRSP By Bruce Owen-Wahi SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER & Variable C l i J Ik ." ^ I k Rate Savings RRSP "Your Choice" Term Deposits & 5 Yr. Accelerafer Term Deposit & Premium Choice Investm ent Certificates & The Family Of Ethical Mutual Funds" & 1 0 0 Of The Top Nam e Mutual Funds" Si Index-Linked Term Deposits First Ontario Fund" & Perform ance.Com 5 Year Equity-Linked Term Deposit 6.50 5-Year A ccelerater Term Deposit Vo 3 Year "Your Choice" Term Deposit GREAT R ates F r o m Y o u r RRSP H e a d q u a r t e r s 8.00 Vo M ore and m ore C anadians are catching on to the pow er o f Registered Retirem ent Savings Plans (RRSPs). Statistics from 1998 indicated that just over 30% o f all taxpayers contributed to their RRSPs. If you were one o f this group (and we all should have been) you're probably already convinced o f the basic need for an RRSP. In fact, you `re probably planning on contribut ing to your plan fairly soon. But before you do, you'll need to sit down and map out a strategy. Here are som e main areas you can focus on: R R SP Goals G oals are the building · blocks o f your financial plan, but they can be tricky: too vague and they don't pro vide any motivation; too detailed and your plan becomes inflexible; too lofty and they can create disillusion; too low and they can create com placency. W hen it com es to retirement, goal set ting is additionally com plicated by the often vague, far-off nature o f retirem ent itself. So get into the habit o f setting reasonable, specific goals for your retirem ent funds. Your goals can be simple and imm ediate (m axim ize your contributions for this year), or long term, more com plicated projects (estab lish an asset allocation mix and a regu lar re balancing schedule). It doesn't matter. W hat does matter is that you get into the habit o f constantly seeking to im prove the state o f your retirem ent portfolio, rather than accepting the casual com placency that can settle over us when it's not RRSP season. R R SP Contributions O bviously a big step in ensuring you have an adequate nest egg is to take care o f your contributions. Step back and consider how m uch you co n tributed to your R R SP last year. Did you maxim ize your contribution? If not how can you m ake sure you m axi mize it this year? Develop a plan: you may w ant to investigate a m onthly con tribution schedule. If y o u 've done that, think about contributing early for the next year. If you have contribution room left over, you m ay w ant to inves tigate alternate m eans o f m aking a con tribution - a contribution in kind or a short-term loan. Perhaps it's time to take advantage o f your allow ed over contribution. W hatever your strategy, m ake a com m itm ent to get as much m oney in your plan as you can. Foreign Content a n d Your R R SP O ver the years, m ost investors have becom e painfully aw are o f the lim ita tions o f our dom estic market. Investors w ith lim ited foreign content have been bearing the brunt o f years o f under per form ance in Canada. Those who m ax imized their foreign content could at least take som e com fort in the perfor m ance o f other markets. The lesson is clear: the diversified portfolio is a .stronger portfolio, more able to w ith stand the slings and arrow s o f a som e tim es outrageous fortune. A sset A llocation an d Your R R SP In sim ilar fashion, investors who had overloaded their R R SP portfolios with equities last year, hoping to ride the three-year-old bull m arket, w ere in for a w ild ride. T hose w ith m ore bal anced portfolios probably fared a little better-and their sleep w as probable a little less disturbed. A gain, it's point less to predict w hich asset class will perform best over the short term . M ore im portant I think it to determ ine a m ix ture o f equities, fixed-incom e invest ments, and cash that suits your long term goals. A fter a topsy-turvy year like 1999, y o u 'll w ant to review w hat those goals are, and w hether your cur rent asset m ix should achieve them or not. D epending on your portfolio, you may need a m ajor overhaul, or sim ply a fine-tuning. W hatever you need, get it done before you contribute. Rem em ber, I've only given the m ost general o f overview s: each o f these top ics deserves m ore careful consideration than the few sentences I can give them here. If you find yourself scratching your head w ith any o f these topics, talk to your Financial Consultant. A s I've said before, a little professional help today can m ake a big difference to your future nest egg. B ruce O w en-W ahi is a financial con sultant, Private C lie nt G ro u p , Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., 337-5425 G u aran te ed 5th year rate. R ates subject to change w ithout notice. E. & O. E. To Discuss Your RRSP Needs Call Or Visit The Branch At 6 0 Lakeshore Road W est Wow! 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Residents of all other provinces, except Saskatchewan, are eligible to receive 1 5% federal tax credit Investment must be held for at least eight years in order to keep the tax credits. Tne indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded returns as at December 31,1999 and include changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution, income taxes or optional charges payable by any security holder which would have reduced returns. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expens es all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Mutual funds are not guaranteed and all performance data repre sents past performance and is not necessanly indicative of future performance. Important information about Triax Growth Fund is contained in its prospectus. Please obtain a copy from a duly .qualified investment advisor and read it carefully before investing. Inception date: March 1996. 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