There are many investments that the individual can choose from to fit his/her risk tolerance being high, medium or low risk such as: Mutual Funds, Segregated Funds, and G.I.Cs.

MUTUAL FUNDS
Mutual funds have rapidly become one of the most popular investments for Canadians. A mutual fund pools your money with thousands of other people's money. Making money is hard work and making your money make money can be equally tough. That's why its great to buy an investment ran by a professional portfolio manager. A professional manager invests the money that the fund receives and continually manages it on an on-going basis. It may be invested in stocks, bonds, and other securities

There is over 1,400 different funds available that you can choose from. The funds can be broken down into categories, which are:

• Income Funds Money Market, Mortgage, Bond, and Dividend Funds
• Growth Funds Equity, International and Global, Specialty, Real Estate funds.
• Combined Income and Growth Funds Balanced, Asset Allocation, and Indexed funds
  
  

There is a type of fund to meet almost every investment objective ranging from different levels of risk, return and income. Even if you have little money to invest, they offer an easy way to assemble a portfolio of diversified investments that match your financial circumstances and goals.

SEGREGATED FUNDS Segregated funds are insurance contracts that also have many similarities to a Mutual Fund. In a Segregated Fund, money is pooled and invested on behalf of unitholders in securities such as stocks, bonds and money market instruments. Also a professional manager invests the money that the Segregated fund receives and continually manages it on an on-going basis just as they are in mutual funds.

Segregated funds are regulated by insurance laws, which require that a minimum of 75% of the deposits less the amount of any withdrawals must be returned when the policy matures or at death. Some segregated funds provide guarantees in excess of this requirement.


GUARANTEED INVESTMENT CERTIFICATE
Backed by a financial institution, a GIC is an investment that guarantees a fixed rate of return over a fixed term, typically anywhere from 30 days to 5 years.

WHAT IS RISK ? All investments come with some risk. Balancing risk and return are the two main challenges in managing a portfolio. Ideally, you want to minimize risk and maximize return.

In general, the lower the risk, the lower the return you can expect. Conversely, the higher the risk, the greater the potential return for you. The way to balance risk and reward is through diversification - spreading your investment among several different investments. How you diversify will depend largely on how much risk you're willing to take for the return you hope to make. Following are different types of investments.

Notes on Ratings
Rating: 1 and 2 Savings - Low risk - low volatility investments providing monthly income and preservation of capital.

Rating: 3 and 4 - Income - Primary aim is generating regular interest or dividend income.

Rating: 5 - Income + Growth - The Combination of stable performance of bonds and the growth potential of equities.

Rating: 6 and 7 - Growth - This category includes Canadian equity investments, as well as U.S. and global equity investments.

Rating: 8, 9 and 10 - Maximum Growth - These investments concentrate on an asset class, industry sector or region of the world that's expected to produce above-average growth.

RISK / RETURN CHART

LEGEND L - LOW M - MEDIUM H - HIGH 1 - LOW RETURN 10 - HIGH RETURN

This risk/return chart is designed to give you an understanding of how the various types of investments differ with respect to level of risk and potential of return they offer.