Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
. FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, March 28,1888
Money funds
brought many
individuals
into investing
1 s
When Jim Benham established
z% 4he first money market mutual
«%fund for individuals in 1972,
did he know that his
would be one of the
‘most potent forces in bringing
’ millions of ordinary Americans
. into the stock market and help
? ing to fuel the longest bull mar-
* ket ever.
> Money market funds pool
' individuals’ investments and
% invest them in short-term
? money market instruments such
•J as commercial paper, bankers’
/ acceptances, government secu
>* rities, certificates of deposit
and other highly liquid and sta
j ble securities. These funds pay
{J interest rates that vary depend
ing on rates in the money mar
/ ket.
j In the early 19705, the onset
double-digit inflation, com
'X’bined w ' t h regulations limiting
much banks could pay
meant money in the
•/‘•bank was rapidly losing pur
//jchasing power. Alternatives
l // were few: Treasury bills paid as
J/iJnuch as 16 percent, but you
.Vjieeded SIO,OOO to buy one. The
bank deposit at that
//jtime was less than $3,000.
‘‘♦‘Going straight from bank
’/-'deposits into the stock market
/•♦' was unheard of.
‘X Benham felt that money mar
/Sket funds would give people
i***»who had never had their money
" ‘anywhere other than a bank an
2 ,almost risk-free entry into
•! 'investing. They allowed small
> .Investors to earn yields that
< .more or less followed inflation.
* * Individuals at first moved
, 'carefully; eventually, they
t
> M,- »
fIBH HHBBBBI Bl . BOIOiO
• i wrlp! i
8 - ? <*f
%&
- i / I —i * ! i ’’’i * i m —«
:Bi Ww IE V-T«77 / IT-W W J l9 u -r±2
iiSO x<li
' Join us tor retrestuxiaents
• 1- Doctor visits for $lO and. learn more.
k sjlgßßß wjl t. x-t
2 51J250 annu™ 1 nrescrintion benefit with B Tuesday Maidl 30 1999
; tf r r , •>
|Mm. a $lO or $25 co-payment. g-JO^Bapfet Medical Center
. 3. Vision/glasses benefit with sls exam. j 12(X) Medical Center Drive, Cununing
zl. 1 11 *yfrl
:<M—«mmw^-- v - 0 1 j - IxIAi^LAV^L ■ .
necessary.
• m®w»M*rw *®J
? 5. Worldwide emergency coverage.
s 9hH tmnijeagiati^ttstrieam
II *4*l J*!* •• / » >** / >i II J I
van iui a.v/xz x-zvw
’ • TDD# 4tH-'>S3-'>4W) dor the he innu imnairec')
* Medicare Secure Choice is offered by SCHP, Inc., a Provider Sponsored Health Care Corporation. SCHP, Inc. is a Medicare+Choice Organization that has contracted with Medicare
• tooffer a Medicare+Choice Plan. Members must continue to pay Medicare Partß premiums and Part A premiums if applicable. Some limitations and co-payments may apply.
Access to non-contracted providers is available through the authorized Out-Of-Network Benefit. Co-insurance, deductibles and annual maximum limits apply.
’.' .'■•.. ' I • • ■• - ♦•
STOCK MARKET UPDATE
a MARKET IN BRIEF
At the close of March 26,1999
1.9* 9S 2ft
t ftS-k
32 56 U 4?
■■ DOW Ea 1 ? X
111?' B 1 »
HH
|MnH| Close:
' % change YTD:+6.9B
- 2
s .25 9 rt?*?
3?’.« CtienM 1..W 21 1233
S&PSOO
31 62
*§ STSIV'Y:
Close: 1282.80
jwK' Si IIL %change YTD: +4 - 36
t r» SO 0W
38 2 ’ +
NASDAQ
101 ; < Ci; >
I+< .70- . . 1 L
*1 g S 2 2 +i& W
p ; 19 26
<lO 57W2- ■ +-3 7:-
Hjjji. Close; 2419.32
% change YTD:+IO.34
RH HR- ■
> s 44 13 S»1B ‘
-
began pouring money into
money funds, which ended up
being good for the country as a
whole. It contributed to the lift
ing of restrictions on how much
interest banks could pay and
also encouraged capital forma
tion. In turn, U.S. industry
became more efficient, and liv
ing standards improved.
Eventually, however, interest
rates began to fall. But instead
of heading back to banks, many
of these new investors began
BUSINESS
Stocks of local interest
Stock Last Change
BellSouth Corp. -411/8 +9/16
Coca-Cola Company +65 5/16 - 9/16
McDonalds Corp. -44 3/8 + 3/16
Southern Company -2415/16 -11/16
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. -91 9/16 - 5/16
Tyson Foods -18 9/16 -3/8
Home Depot +63 3/4 +l/8
Ford Motor Company +5615/16 -17/16
General Motors -87 15/16 +3/4
Scientific Atlanta +27 7/8 - 5/16
AT&T -831/16 +l3/16 .
r Intel 11611/16 -11/4
Microsoft 1781/8 -1 13/16
Regions Bank 35 1/2 - 9/16
Atlanta Gas Light -17 15/16 -1/2
GTE +5813/16 -1/2
Coca-Cola Enterprises -32 1/2 - 7/8
Pepsico -40 + 3/4
Georgia Pacific -74 1/8 -113/16
Delta Airlines -67 13/16 -7/8
FATS Inc. -11/4
' '•' : ■, ■ '.■ ' ■ T ~~~ ' *
' 18 16-WHcpSe <32 "
Edward Jones
=====--
INVESTMENTS
210 Dahlonega St., Cumming, Ga.
John Weaver (770) 844-1000? w
tiU 4Y« inrtCer <4 C4 V ?
looking at conservative invest
ments, such as mutual funds
that invested in government
bonds. Investors gradually
became more savvy and began
searching out other funds that
met their needs, eventually
adding individual stocks to
their portfolios.
Today, there are more than a
thousand money market funds,
with assets of more than $1 tril
lion. Nearly 8,000 mutual funds
exist, with assets of more than
$5 trillion, and individual
investors have more than $5.5
trillion invested in individual
stocks.
What began as a small idea
opened the door to a myriad of
opportunities, enabling individ
ual investors to achieve the
dream of financial security.
Information provided by John
M. Weaver, Investment
Representative with Edward
Jones in Cumming.
Business news
Conservation community
is subject of March 30
meeting set for Athens
Greg Ramsey, a designer with
Atlanta’s award-winning Village
Habitat Design, LLC, will discuss
the advantages of the controversial
new cluster-style real estate devel
opment to the Athens Land Trust
at its meeting on Tuesday, March
30.
The meeting will be held at
Athens Regional Library on
Baxter Street. Ramsey’s talk will
begin at 7 p.m.
“1 want to show how land preser
vation can be an opportunity for
residential developers to work with
land trusts,” Ramsey said. “These
communities can be more appeal
ing than luxury subdivisions
around a golf course.”
Conservation Community devel
opment allows average home own
ers to participate directly in own
ing and enjoying large acreage of
natural lands including agricultural
areas. For example, if 100 homes
are planned to occupy only 10
acres of a 200 acre plot of land, the
remaining 190 acres (95 percent)
can be permanently preserved as
recreational and natural areas for
the use of all the neighbors in the
community.
For information about the meet
ing, contact Stephanie Brown at
the Athens Land Trust at (706)
613-0122
SCORE opens new
office in North Roswell
SCORE, the Service Corps of
Retired Executives, a free counsel
ing service for small businesses,
now offers its services at the North
Fulton Chamber of Commerce
located at 1025 Old Roswell Road
(corner of Old Roswell and
Warsaw). SCORE counselors will
be available Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
by appointment. Appointments
may be made by calling (770) 993-
8806.
About an SBA 10an...?
Have you ever thought about start
ing a business, but just don't have
the capital? Well, find out how the
U.S. Small Business Administration
Guaranteed Bank Loan Program
works. Get the details from a bank
ing expert at SCORE seminar,
Tuesday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 1
p.m., 270 Peachtree St., Room 140,
Atlanta, Ga. 30303, at Baker Street.
(Southern Co. Center) I
Cost is $35 for walk-ins and S3O if
preregistered. For further informa
tion call SCORE at (404) 347-2442.
ext. 109. Free coffee and donuts will
be served.
Welch, others at Forsyth'
Homeßanc recognized
Gary Welch, vice president and
branch manager for Homeßanc
Mortgage Corporation’s Forsyth
County branch, led the Forsyth
branch in mortgage originations in
1998. He was recognized for his
achievement with a Diamond Award
at the Mortgage Bankers Association
of Georgia annual awards banquet on
March 11.
Gary Welch;
Diamond
Awards are
given to
mortgage
bankers
who close
more than
S2O mil
lion during
a year.
Wel c h I
originated
$44.24
million in
111111 l Mil 111
mortgages in 1998, which also places
him among Homeßanc’s Top 10
mortgage originators for 1998.
Other mortgage bankers at the!
Forsyth branch also were recognized
at the banquet. Kathy Farmer also
won a Diamond Award, and Colleen
Duckworth, Tom Varner and Stevel
Thompson took home Platinunj
Awards, which are given to mortgage
bankers who close between sls mil-1
lion and $19.9 million in a year.