36 — North Shere Rows — Frose page 24 But what if that Internet startup was only five or ovo per CENT ul putin COTTE CST: merit? Even if yeu tose your entire investment when it (far too inevitably) comes crashing Sunday, November 26, 2000 iversify by down, the majority of your investment will still be actively carning you money. Divensification reduces the risk of losing money, and increases the probably G2 good rate Of retura of vorr investment. It’s not a new idea. In fact, YOUTH BALLET COMPANY DECEMBER 2 ~ 2:30 P.M. ~ $12 Centennial Theatre, North Vancouver Artistic Director - Dolores Kirkwood TICKETS: DB4-4484 or 521-7299 USINESS investi it’s the reason why mutual finds are so popular; diversiti- cation, without the need to invest hundreds of thousands of doilars, Diversification, it can be argued, is the basis of the whole modern capital market. But if that’s so, why do Canadians not diversify? Oh sure, we buy mutual funds and a varicty of stocks and bonds, but by and large, they’re all Canadian funds and Canadian companies that we invest in. And — call me crazy here, but if we want to wuly diversi- fi, we should be investing our money ina global market. Sure, Canada is a part of that global economy, and by invest- ing in Canada we are de facto investing in the global market, but Canada makes up less than a From page 13 “The best thing is when you’re up here you can be a weatherman and watch the systems roll ia,” said Saltaire’s Lisa MacFarlane. Or the cars as they crawl across the Lions Gate. “There are 2 jot of people that are real vutdoorsy types and if the sun is out the tops are down on the car and they want to be outside,” she con- tinued. “Inroduucing Disney 5 California Adventure. Meet the new neighbour mext door to Disneyland in California. Disney's newest theme park is opening in Caiifornia February &, 2001. Now you > €an explore a brand-new theme park where guests will be immersed into the : California spirit. through the ‘magic of Hollywood, the fun of a beachfront SGoardwalk arid the adventures of the great outdoors. And it’s all right next door : to, Disneyland park in California. To book your. Disney California Vacation, cali your travel agent or. i=@77-345-DESNEY. Or do your. exploring on = disneyland. com. PART OF YHE New DISNEYLAND RESORT. IN CALIFORNIA three per cent of that market. That's a very small slice of a very jarge pie. So why aren’t people investing outside of the coun- try? One reason is fluctuating currency. What happens, peo- ple ask, If L invest in an American fund, and the Canadian dollar suddenly starts to gain in value? Instead of being worth 65 cents US, the Canadian dollar rises to 70 cents US? That means each dollar I invest is suddenly worth five cents less than when I originally invested it, even though the investment itsclf might be performing well. But the advantage of get- ting a better rate of return is greater than the currency risks. Besides, with Quebec still talking referendum, a The restaurant has launched its own charity —~ the Blue Blanket Brigade (try ‘saying that ten times). The staff will gather blue blankets, add them to the restaurant’s own collection and distribute them to less fortunate souls for Christmas. A portion of Saltaire’s drink specials will also go toward the charity. _ Restaurateur and owner Rob Ward modeled Saltaire after. popular San Francisco eating spot Lulus. It was important to set the new location apart from its predecessor, said MacFarlane. “We wanted to Jet the light in and so we used a lot of metals and “. warm wood.” The result is quite impres- sive — and the perfect set- ting for everything from. an intimate candlelit dinner to an office party for 50. $600-billion federal debt, and a high tax rate, most for- eign investors aren’r willing to invest in the Canadian dollar, and that will keep the dollar down. Canadian investors can safely assume that our dollar will not sud- denly skyrocket in value any time soon. But ultimately, the answer as to why people don’t diver- sify outside of Canada may simply be an issue of familiar- ity. We understand the Canadian market. We recog- nize names like Bombardier and Telus and Ballard. We can get our hands on infor- mation about these compa- nies easily, while trying, to track down information on a US company, or a UK com- pany can be more difficult. if we're looking at funds itaire staris charity Also on the 1500 block of Bellevue: Whytecliff Travel Lec., — Something Kinda Different and Valeror dry cleaners. Commercial Avenues is a monthly feature of the North Shore News’ business section.. While it is by no means @ compre- hensive guide to any of the arcas it fosuses on, it seeks to capture a snapshot of the day- to-day life of business- es selected at random that call the street home. If you have a business that is part ofa unique or other- wise worthwhile block, or know of any, lease share it> with us. Write. to Commercial | Avenues, ¢/o Jan-Christian Sorensen, North Shore News, .- When installed bby M2 Auto inclu machining of rotors or Ges us. & naollafion ng in global market outside the English-speaking nations — say Germany or France — there is an added complication of language. But you know whar? It’s worth it. It reduces the risk, and usually increases the return on investment. Even the federal government has realized this, increasing the amount we are able to invest our RRSP outside of the country to 30 per cent, up from 25 per cent. There’s a whole wide world out there, and broadening your invest- ment portfolio to reflect that will make you a wiser — and richer — investor. Eric Muir is an investment advisor and certified finan- cial advisor with National Bank Financial. He can. be reached at 436-1077 or by e- mail at . AON Osterbauer is the new kid on the Bellevue block at Bauer's oe Freming and Art. 1139 Lonsdale’ “Aves, North: Vancouver V7M 214. E-mail: “sforensen@nsnews.icom>. wt PER Gan = Ss MON-FRI, SATU! e724 HR EMERGENCY Sane MARK 715-2625, MIME 723-2625; ERIC 710-2635