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C4 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesdsay April 7, 1999 Business Successful Investing w ith P atrick McKeough TIP OF THE WEEK: "Mistakes cost more in low-quality investments." Balancing the five sectors A balanced and diversified portfolio is always a wise way to invest, and it has worked out particularly well this decade. Investors who did otherwise - who plunged into lower-quality investments, or who concentrated their holdings in just one or two sectors - have had wildly volatile and often deeply unsatisfactory results. TH E RULES 1. Invest mainly in well-established, profitable, dividend-paying companies. 2. Spread your investments out across the five main economic sectors: Finance, utilities, the consumer sector, manufacturing & industry, and resources. How things can go wrong: Some of the most notable mutual-fund stumbles in this decade have occurred when investment managers decided to load up on resource stocks. This kind of sector rotation or sector concentration looks brilliant when it succeeds. However, it exposes investors to unnecessary risk and can bring heavy losses when it fails. SECTO R CHAR ACTER ISTICS If you are tempted to downplay or load up on one or more of the five main economic sectors, keep their characteristics in mind: Stability Risk Finance High Low Utilities High Low Consumer Medium Medium Manufacturing Low High Resources* Low High 'Resource stocks have the added disadvantage that prices for their products are highly volatile and out of their control. Successful investors adjust their sectoral exposure from time to time, as opportunities arise in well-established companies with a history of earnings and dividends. When you "overweight" a sector, though, be sure to choose mainly high-quality choices. 0 1999 ArtPraet International GRAPHICS SYNDICATE 4/4 Organize home office to boost productivity By Matte Belisle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER You will benefit most from working at home if you and your work area are properly organized. Some of the things to keep in mind in setting up your home office are: 1. Your objectives 2. Your productive time of the day 3. Your family demands 4. Your organizational skills Organization is key to the success of any activ­ ity. Here are some tips to keep in mind when orga­ nizing your work space whether you are self- employed, telecommuting, working at home after hours or you want to run a more efficient home. 1. Define your work space and separate it from your home space. 2. Your desk is an important tool. It requires Ford sales stagnant but truck market buoyant Ford of Canada sales figures were virtually stagnant in March with a .1% increase. Car sales for the month were down a dramatic 26.5% while March truck sales were up 14.8% over the same period one year ago. On a year-to-date basis, total vehicle sales are up 8.4% led by a 22.8% gain in truck sales that off­ set a 15.5% decline in car sales. "With 44,653 deliveries between January and March, we have just closed the best first quarter truck sales in our 95-year history," said John Radford, vice- pres. general sales. "Consumer confidence in our products has put us in a dominant sales posi­ tion." Highlights for the quarter included:-Ford F-Series pickup sales were up 31.1% -Windstar sales up 19.3% -Ford Taurus sales up 12.8% -Ford Mustang sales up 62.9% -Ford Explorer sales up 35.2% space for your computer and a writing area. A key­ board arm will allow you more space on your desk and you can benefit from proper ergonomics. 3. Store your supplies in one area close to your work space. 4. Use a tackboard for those often used lists, memos and reminders. 5. Make sure you have proper lighting. 6. Make use of the vertical space in your room for storage of books, binders and reference mate­ rials. 7. Handle a piece of paper only once. Take care of the item right away and then store the paper in the right place. To do this productively, create files with tabs for those recurring items. 8. Balance work with family. Plan your time on a common calendar. The whole family will know what times are available for them, and it will help separate your work time. 9. Have Fun! In your files, keep one for fun activities so that when you have free time you can decide what to do at a glance. 10. Each day is important. Set goals for the day and get to work. The most common complaint is the clutter a home office can create. "Often, there is a very simple solution to clut­ ter. A file cabinet could be all a client needs," says Belisle. (S e e 'C lu t te r ' p a g e C 7) .* "It's like the Internet on caffeine?' 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