Questions To Ask Before Buying A Cdn Mutual Fund
Investing Newsgroups
Dear Fellow Canadian Mutual Fund Investor;
Well, it won’t be long before the Mutual Fund Companies start bombarding us
with their Radio, TV, and Newsprint ads. There should be a lot of fierce
competition out there this year, considering the past roller coaster ride
the stock market’s have had. But with the recent bounce back of the Dow and
TSE, the mutual fund companies will be touting their funds that have
somewhat weathered the recent storm(s).
Is the storm over? You tell me.
I, like most Canadian’s, started investing in mutual funds rather late in
life. In the beginning I was totally at the mercy of my financial advisor
and Bank. I bought into the high flyers of the day, only to find that they
were the dogs of tomorrow.
My less than average returns from my investments prompted me to become an
informed investor. I found myself spending more time on selecting a new
washer and dryer than I would investing 2,000.00 dollars of very hard earned
money in a mutual fund.
Five years ago I became a daily subscriber of the now defunct Financial Post
newspaper. I then ventured into books, magazines, seminars, computer
programs, and the Internet. Mutual funds, and investing in them has become a
very financially rewarding hobby for me. Its funny, a few years ago my
friends would tune me out, or just walk away if I started talking about
mutual funds, now there calling me up for my advice.
My fist step was to devise some sort of worksheet I could use when comparing
or considering a Mutual Fund to buy. So I sat down with all the books and
articles, etc. and designed a four page work sheet with all the questions
needed to get to the heart of the matter, and in doing so, making my
Financial Advisor squirm a little. Please, do not get me wrong, I would be
at a serious disadvantage without the help and advice of my Financial
Advisor. We have developed a very good understanding of my investment goals
and the amount of risk that I am willing to take. And most importantly by
using my worksheet, I was able remove some of the mystery, and the fear of
the “Gee, I didn’t Know That” after the fact.
As you may have already guessed I am not a professional advisor, just a
regular Joe. And so far, my best advice to my friends has been; Pay yourself
first, 2nd obtain the services of a licensed financial advisor who is close
to your age, and 3rd use my worksheet when buying a Canadian Mutual Fund.
This worksheet has been meet with rave reviews from those who have taken the
time to use it. One friend of mine suggested that I sell it, and make money.
But seriously, I’d rather make it available to anyone for a simple cost to
cover the stationary and printing.
If you are interested in obtaining a copy of The Canadian Mutual Fund Buyers
Worksheet, please send me $1 (Loonie), plus a Canadian postage stamp, your
name and address clearly written (on a mailing label would be nice) to the
address below.
Thank you, and happy investing.
Neil
N. D. Bowie
17790 - #10 Hwy
P.O. Box 34097
Surrey, B.C.
V3S-8C4
P.S. Many thanks to those who have requested the worksheet, I would greatly
appreciate any comments you may have in order to continually improve this
publication.