| AES ERIE ENTE PSST GO SE A AEE 2 SYA TORT R RANE 3G LE PANS Pay as little as $26 p units burning on, di: spla a ee RATE RATNER AIGA OFS NIETO ET: | OFCUR AEE north shore news investi SHE sounded impa- tient, frustrated. “I moved my $65,000 RRSP inte an equity nuctual fund last year — it had been ranked as the top performer, she said. “This was my first vercure back into the stock market since the 1987 crash. “T just received my latest stateinent. My moncy has grown less than 1% in the past year. I could have got five or six per cent from a GIC or a bond.” The woman said she tries to keep up to date with what’s going on in the mar- ket and the economy as a whole, “But there are so many predictions and develop- meats, it just leaves my head spinning,” she said. “Pve always done well in real estate and am wondering whether to stick to revenue property and simply forget about the stock market.” I sympathized: “A top equity fund often finds it dif- ficult to stay in that position. And unless you are a da trader —— buying and Sefling ~ securities during the day — you are probably better to’ ignore those short-term n From page 17° don’t recommend that you’ ‘do this, because many of the . software programs that you... use on your PC are date sitive, and. if your. 2C i is:no Y2K compliant you're only | , going to complicate your life * yk -to fix them. ere are three glements toa thorough’ analysis of NGRTGAGES] USINESS ng for comit ri trends as far as deciding whether to hold *em or fold *em’.” The stock marker will always be far mere volatile than real estate. On the other hand, you don’t have to deal with tenants or faulty hot water heaters, and you can generally seli stacks or mutu- al funds very easily to get back some or all of your money. To invest in stocks or equity mutua! funds, you © must accept almost daily price changes, and be pre- pared to see your investment drop in value pethaps one. year or more in five — partic- ularly hard to do if that drop’ * comes rignt after you. buy. the. stock or fund. Can ‘you leave that money invested for per haps five or even. 10 years? - You or a skilled adviser . ‘your PC’ s Y2Ke tompliance: @ testing your: computer's Real Time Clock! (RIC) to. see whether of not it, will automatically change the cen: tury.couriter from the 19th to: thé 20th at midnight Dec. 31, 1999, as well as recognizing that the year 2000 is a leap . year; a analyzing your. basic oper- : ating | system software. to: WHEN THE BANKS SAY, “NO" Financial Services itd. "VISIT GUR WEBSITE ” wuew.instafund.cem: THE INDUSTRY'S Fst VISUALLY PLAT © -FIGTURE TUBE must also decide which secu- rities to buy and when to sell thein. The stock market allows you to diversify easily with relatively small amounts of money. “Bur,” I told the woman, “if vou have a knack for making money in real estare, stick with revenus property. “The best investment is always the one which yields comiort as well as a comfort- able profit. Just make sure you have cnough diversity in your portfolio to provide both liquidity and a hedge in. case your ‘what I know best’ investments don’t do as weil as expected.” . Finally, don’t be too hard . on yourself i if you make a mistake. Nobody gets it right” even most of the time. You: : . can be satisfied if you simply’ make more right t than wrong, : decisions.” ©... ‘ Mike Grenby i isa colunsinise. and. indepentent ersonal ” financial 4 adviser: oa “questions: in pe tate as. space allows but carinot reply. ersonally, Contact. him: at: 0, Box. 50029,” South. Slope “determine whether: can “correctly proces: beyond 1999; %2 reviewing Yak compliance ‘in your other softwai ten e ny thar will cally complete thi non fo . 1 strongly end that. you do : ‘diagnostic, utility: Y2K ‘Test .from’ ‘Secure Tech no l.o% . The “check your ¥2K- conip ‘over the Web. The:best onlir chttp:// “ae - Obviously, ¥Y2K: has the “. potential to critically affect’ our world in.a number.o dverse ways. Although th ovtcome of the problem is uncertain; the: prob! tse is‘very real. It of tis to remain‘ ink nal ‘piece of advic griore the doomsda uncement. of an’ upcom: ing made for ‘In ‘the meantime, run if