Real Estate Bits

Mutual funds remain the most popular way for Canadians to save and invest for their financial goals. Although most mutual funds share many of the same benefits (see below), the challenge for investors is to build a portfolio of funds that matches their objectives. Here’s a look at why mutual funds are so popular, and how to use them to your advantage.

Why Mutual Funds?

Mutual funds offer something for all investors, from the novice to the sophisticated.

Professional Management: Most of us don’t have the time and resources to research the world’s markets for investment opportunities. Mutual fund managers do. It’s their job to manage money and make day-to-day investment decisions, based on extensive research. This process may include meetings with company executives, competitors, and customers.

Built-in diversification. Most mutual funds typically hold dozens of different individual securities, such as stocks and bonds.

Did You Know? Asset allocation refers to how we allocate our savings among the three major asset classes (cash, fixed income, and equities). The mix that’s right for you will depend on your goals, time horizon, and comfort level with risk.

Affordability And Convenience: Most mutual funds come with low minimum investments, some as low as $100. What’s more, after you make an initial investment, you can often make regular contributions with as little as $50 per month.

Automatic Reinvestment: Most mutual fund companies automatically reinvest income distributions (from dividends, interest, and capital gains) in additional fund units for you. In a registered Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), this leads to increased tax-free compounding over time.

Your money is not locked in. Mutual funds are highly liquid investments, meaning that it is easy to buy and sell fund units. Should you need your money, you can usually access your funds quickly. However, fund companies may charge you an early redemption fee if you withdraw your money within three months of purchasing a fund, with the exception of redemptions from money market funds and other “cash-equivalent” funds.

Did You Know? Most financial institutions and financial advisors have online tools that can help you determine the kind of investor you are and suggest an asset allocation mix that's right for your personal goals.

Building A Portfolio Of Funds: Canadian investors can choose from thousands of mutual funds. This is both a blessing and a challenge. The good news is that there are funds for every type of investor and investment approach - including equity funds, global funds, bond funds, mortgage funds, and money market funds.

The challenge is to combine these funds in a way that can help you reach your goals. For instance, many of us probably started investing using a building-block approach - buying one mutual fund, adding another, and then another. There is nothing wrong with this approach if you are in fact building a diversified portfolio - one that includes equity funds, fixed-income funds, and money market funds. But if you are just assembling a random collection of funds without considering how they work together to reduce risk and enhance returns, this can take you away from your goals. For instance, some of your funds may overlap and hold similar investments, which might make you less diversified than your realize. And the more funds you have, the harder it is to keep track of them. Balanced funds are one solution to this dilemma. Balanced mutual funds invest in a combination of stocks, bonds, and short-term cash investments - providing instant diversification in one investment. An experienced fund manager determines the precise mix. Because balanced funds provide exposure to the major asset classes, they can be a good choice for novice investors, or the foundation for a larger portfolio.

Financial Tip: Go global with mutual funds. It’s difficult for most of us to access more specialized opportunities such as global investments. But large mutual funds have the resources to bring global investing to the average investor. Portfolio funds, also called “funds of funds,” are another way to ensure adequate diversification. These funds combine a number of mutual funds (often from different fund companies) into a single investment. Like balanced funds, their mix includes cash, fixed income, and equities. But unlike most Canadian balanced funds, they also include global investments in their mix - which provides another level of diversification.

You Choose A Portfolio: Income, conservative, or aggressive, for example - that reflects your objectives and risk tolerance, and the portfolios are automatically monitored and rebalanced for you so that they continue to meet your investor profile. Lifecycle funds are similar to one-stop portfolio funds in that they are a single investment created from other mutual funds (but usually from the same fund family), and they offer a complete asset allocation solution, including global funds, in a single investment.

However, each lifecycle fund is constructed with a specific target date – say, 2020. As the fund’s target date approaches, the fund’s asset allocation becomes more conservative, with more emphasis on fixed income investments and cash. This makes lifecycle funds a possible choice for investors who have a specific goal in mind, such as sending their kids to university in 2015 or retiring in 2025. It also makes them a possible choice for investors who don’t want to spend too much time thinking about their portfolios.

Whether you are using mutual funds to save for your retirement or your children’s education, your financial advisor can help you choose the solutions that are right for your situation.

Regards,

Nino.

December 15, 2006 - In response to growing concerns about real estate fraud, the provincial government has passed Bill 152, the Consumer Protection and Service Modernization Act, which provides various new safeguards for property owners.

Under Bill 152, the Land Titles Act is amended to ensure that ownership of a property cannot be lost as a result of the registration of a falsified mortgage, fraudulent sale, or a counterfeit power of attorney. The proposed legislation will also,

Real estate fraud has recently received attention from the real estate, legal and financial communities due to its increasing prevalence. Real estate fraud can take various forms, but one of the most serious is title theft, whereby title to a property is transferred fraudulently without the true property owner’s knowledge. The home can then be sold without the true property owner’s knowledge or a mortgage can be placed on the property, which could become the responsibility of the unsuspecting rightful property owner.

Uppity opened in the summer of 2006 at 1124 Queen Street East, just east of Pape Avenue, in Toronto's Leslieville. Uppity! features original painted antique furniture and accessories, folk art, signage and unique decorative items. Store owner Timothy Loughmiller personally selects each and every item that goes into Uppity! He look for pieces that are both decorative and functional, as well as fine, fun and funky.

Timothy specifically chose the store's location, recognizing the growth potential of the neighborhood. "Homes can still be purchased at reasonable prices in this area," Timothy said, "And the houses are not only of good size, but are also convenient to local shopping and literally minutes from the downtown core. Since opening my shop, I'm thinking seriously of buying something here myself."

Uppity! is open five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and the store accepts credit and debit cards, cheques and cash. You may reach Timothy and Uppity! by phone at 647-436-0661, or you visit their website at www.uppity.ca

January 18, 2007 -The first half of January yielded 1,592 resale home transactions in the Toronto Area, a six per cent increase over the same time period a year ago, Toronto Real Estate Board President Dorothy Mason announced today.

“The strong activity we saw in December has carried through into the new year,” Mrs. Mason said. “Though these are very preliminary results, it is definitely an encouraging sign for the market to be so active this time of year.”

Toronto’s Downtown East (C08) neighbourhood saw 32 per cent more homes change hands compared to mid-January of last year.

Outside of Toronto, the Meadowvale / Streetsville area of Mississauga saw 38 per cent more transactions compared to the first half of January 2006, while Richmond Hill South (N03) saw an increase of 37 percent over the same timeframe.

The average price of a home remained stable in the first half of January, dipping about one per cent to $340,793 from December, though up 10 per cent over the $310,547 recorded during the first half of January 2006. Active listings sit at 17,283, up slightly from 16,517 a year ago.

Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC’s Ontario regional economist, expects price increases to remain healthy.

“Home listings continue to trend higher across the GTA early in 2007,” Mr. Tsiakopoulos said. “This bodes well for consumer choice, and rising inventories will help moderate the growth in home prices during the year. Favourable economic conditions and a healthy balance between demand and supply will ensure that home prices continue edging higher.”

TREB’s President noted that all signs point to a healthy market in 2007.

“Activity, price increases and economic fundamentals are all very solid, and now is a great time to take advantage of lots of choice in the market.”

These are just some of the professionals who can help you with your home ownership concerns. If you subsequently choose to establish a business relationship with any person/company then you should be sure to define the specific details of the relationship or business contract before you proceed.

Client & Networking referrals are the foundation of a successful real estate agent's career. Over many years in this industry I have enjoyed the confidence and repeat business of my clients. I appreciate your on-going support and want you to know that I will always look after friends and colleagues you refer to me with professionalism, care and respect.

Rosemary Wright
Sales Representative
Sutton Group-Bayview Realty Inc., Brokerage
Independently Owned & Operated

This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. If you wish to be removed, please reply to this E-Mail with the words "Remove from Newsletter" in the subject line or call me at
(416) 483-8000 to request removal.

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