SMART cash
available for manufacturers
But many applications remain
in 'limbo' because poorly filled out
BY BRYAN MEADOWS
NORTHWEST BUREAU
Participants at an educational workshop in Dryden Thursday were told to be "SMART — ensure your funding application is filled out properly"
Workshop manager Myriam Zitouni said many applications to the SMART Program are being rejected or delayed because they don't contain enough information or are not being filled out properly.
About 300 applications are currently "in lim¬bo in the system" because of this, Zitouni told about 20 manufacturing reps at the morning seminar at the Dryden Training Centre.
Area manufacturers of doors, signs, lumber, wool, boats and structural steel products, learned how they could receive up to $50,000 in funding to help them become more innovative, productive and competitive.
Created by Canadian Manufacturers & Ex¬porters' (CME) and backed by a $25-million in¬vestment from the Ontario Ministry of Eco¬nomic Development, the SMART Program focuses on three key areas that help Ontario manufacturers get ahead, including;, lean man¬ufacturing and process improvements, infor¬mation and communications technology, and energy efficiency/environmental reduction.
Zitouni explained that the goal of the pro-gram is "to build a province of world-class manufacturers."
Meeting delegates, like Eli Blosser of Tim-ber Signs in Nestor Falls, came to the seminar to learn more about the program's rules and re¬sponsibilities.
"That's why I'm here," he said. Some participants wondered why the SMART program was only considering appli-
cations from businesses with 10 to 500 employ¬ees.
"What about the small, rural communities where manufacturers often have less than 10 employees?" one man asked.
"Right now that (number) is under debate," Zitouni replied, urging participants and others to let the provincial government know that smaller manufacturers should be part of the program.
Businesses which have been operating for less than two years are also not eligible for funding.
About 60 applications have been approved for funding so far.
"We're hoping to fund about 500 projects," Zitouni said, adding that depending on interest the program could continue to receive funding in the next provincial budget.
She told participants "if you're interested in the program's (merits), it's critical that you ap¬ply for funding."
With a deadline of June 1, funding applica¬tions are only being accepted online at www.cme-smart.ca.
The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters works in collaboration with a number of key parties including: Ontario Centres of Excel¬lence; Information and Technology Associa¬tion of Canada, Ministry of Northern Develop¬ment and Mines, Economic Development, Small Business and Consumer Services as well as several municipal economic development organizations.
CME is Canada's leading trade and industry association and the voice of manufacturing and global business in Canada. The association directly represents more than 10,000 leading companies nationwide.
And it is hard to fight history when it comes to stocks.
"The science is clear that the equities out¬perform any other asset class over long his¬torical periods of time, but with a lot more risk," said John Stephenson, vice-president arid portfolio manager at First Asset Funds Inc.
"So the best chance of making money in the market is when valuations are low. So it's an ideal time to do it. Of course, that's not when people do it, but that is when people should."
Perhaps you're an investor who has a lump of cash sitting on the sidelines and are think¬ing you would like to get back in1 the market — but gradually
Don Reed, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., said the best way to go about this is the method called "dol¬lar-cost averaging."
For example, let's say you had $60,000 in cash. You could then tell your adviser to put $5,000 a month over the next year into your equity account in an RRSP, a move that hope¬fully smoothes out ups and downs over time.
"So they make their initial investment and the market goes lower — well what that means to them is when their second invest¬ment goes in, they're buying more units than they bought the first time, so they're averag¬ing their position so they've taken the risk away from having the whole amount invested at one point," said Reed.
"When the market moves higher, of course they're buying fewer units but they have a pretty warm feeling anyway because it's mov¬ing higher/'
Alternatively, if you are looking for added safety, Reed said you should look to a bond fund.
He points out that this would enable you to take advantage of sizable spreads between government bonds and corporate debt, in the neighbourhood of four percentage points.
"But I think even a better technique to use than that would be to use a balanced fund, be¬ing a fund that will contain stocks and bonds, "he said.
"And that way, you will get some of the ap¬preciation from stocks on the upside and if the stock market retreats, you have some pro¬tection from the bond component."
Park allows that at least putting money in¬to the market last year was worse than this year because prices have fallen so dramatical¬ly
She added that doesn't mean that sharp de¬clines are a thing of the past on stock markets.
