Gilbert Van der Woerd, advised the chamber members to do the homework on their investments.
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Published: October 01, 2008 5:00 AMGilbert Van der Woerd, a mutual fund representative with Dundee Securities Corporation told Chamber members that slow markets are just part of the average economic cycle.
At the luncheon on Thursday, he talked about protecting individual assets while the economy is slow.
In uncertain economic times, Van der Woerd urged members to know as much as possible about their insurance coverage and investment portfolios.
“It’s [insurance] like their will, people don’t want to talk about it,” he said. “But you shouldn’t expose yourself or those close to you to risks if you can mitigate them.”
The same is true for investments according to Van der Woerd.
According to Van der Woerd, too many people rely on company policies and often don’t know the extent of their coverage.
The right life insurance can help survivors maintain the same quality of life.
“My wife and I have young children and because we have the right kind of insurance that means she won’t have to go out and work to maintain our household if anything ever happens to me,” Van der Woerd said.
Investment can offer that same safety net.
“You have to know, if you are going to experience a permanent loss of funds or just temporary,” he said.
Despite the economic troubles in the U.S., Canadian markets take about 18 months to catch up to their American counterparts.
“The good news is the markets are always the first thing to come back,” Van der Woerd said.
“If you know your investment goals and objectives, it can make sense for you to just ride it out. Someone who was in the market in March 2001, if they rode it out, they could see their $10,000 got to $22,000. Those people who timed their investment would only have the original capital of $10,000.”
