The Canadian Shareowners Associatio...

The Canadian Shareowners Association ("CSA") has created a Shareowner-Sponsored Dividend Reinvestment Plan* ("Shareowner DRP") for its members. At its principally fundamental level, the Shareowner DRP advances the CSA's educational mission of enabling CSA members: ( 1 ) to cogitation traditionally-popular stocks with the aid of the Stock Selection Guide; and, (2) to invest decent amounts of money, regularly, in any that might be attractive to them-without paying prohibitive brokerage commissions.

This one-of-a-kind dividend reinvestment plan obstructions the CSA's individual members and investment sets build a diversified portfolio of stocks starting with a minimum investment of $50 by stock (and a maximum of $2500 by stock). Once a member has started an investment in a stock, s/he can hurl additional amounts ($50-$2,500 per stock) to the CSA to purchase more shares-as ofttimes as monthly. Dividends on all shares purchased by means of the Shareowner DRP are automatically reinvested in more shares.

In power the Shareowner DRP serves as a special-purpose investment form a club for CSA members who share a used by all interest in a particular company. For example, at participating in a Shareowner DRP members who want to purchase a company's stock can pond their funds to make a single purchase and, better than mostly small clubs, obtain the reasonable commission rates previously available barely to institutional investors. By participating in several of these special-purpose "clubs" CSA members can build a diversified portfolio of stocks without prohibitive brokerage charges.

TRADITIONALLY-POPULAR STOCKS

The CSA created the Shareowner DRP to expand the list of companies that members can purchase from one side a DRP and therefore by means of the CSA's Low Cost Investing Program ("LCIP")-see pages 6-8 Initially, the CSA will make the Shareowner DRP available forward a number of stocks that traditionally have been popular with individual investors and investment sets in Canada and the United States. The first of these "Shareowner DRP Stocks" are: BCE Mobile Communications, Barrick Gold Bombardier, Coca-Cola Company, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson Kellogg Company, Loblaw Companies, McDonald's, Merck & Co Microsoft, Motorola, Newbridge Networks, Power Corporation, Royal Bank, Seagram Company, Trimark Financial, The Walt Disney Corporation.

To be eligible for a Shareowner DRP a public company must be traded forward a Canadian stock exchange or onward certain U.S. exchanges; have at least a five year earnings history which can be studied with the Stock Selection Guide; and, generally be known to CSA members.

It is important to note that: (1) the CSA does not give any advice to its members with venerate to the investment merits of any security, including securities that have a Shareowner DRP; and, (2) the availability of a Shareowner DRP in succession a security is not an endorsement of the investment quality of the security.

TIPS, HIPS AND SPIDERS

In addition, the Shareowner DRP is available forward three stockexchange-sponsored index funds. These index stores are similar to equity mutual foundations except that they are bought and sold by the agency of a stock exchange and do not involve the annual management remunerations and typical sales, redemptions, distributions or optional charges associated with many mutual foundations

The index-based funds sponsored by dint of the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSE") that are available by the and of the Shareowner DRP are TIPs and HIPs. The value of TIPs (Toronto 35 Index Participation Fund) units tracks the value of the TSE's Index of the 35 largest and mostly actively traded companies in Canada. The HIPs (TSE 100 Index Participation Fund) units derive their value from the TSE's index of the 100 principally popular companies among investors (including the TSE 35)

The American Stock Exchange has sponsored an index stock that tracks the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Stock Price Index. A Shareowner DRP is available forward the units of this permanent fund which are known as "SPDRs" [pronounced "spiders"].

THE "COSTS"

There is a sumptuousness to being able to purchase traditionally-popular securities, with unpretending amounts of money, on a regular basis, and without prohibitive brokerage absolute title [i]or[/i] posessions That cost is a settle of userfees intended to recruit costs; the principal ones being: $12 to set-up a DRP account; $4 to make an optional cash investment; $8 to vend shares; $12 to transfer shares to an RRSP; 2% of reinvested dividends; and, 5 cent by means of share.

Additional information about the Shareowner DRP is contained upon page 6 with complete details available in the Shareowner DRP Information Circular which is available with request to the CSA.

Other features of the Shareowner DRP which deliver valuable service include:

(1) The ease and convenience of solitary having to communicate with single organization-the CSA-regarding the set-up of your DRP accounts; sending optional investments; transferring shares to an RRSP or other account; obtaining share certificates; selling shares; etc

(2) Greatly reduc brokerage commissions from puddleed purchases and sales.