A couple of weeks ago, we circulated a memo regarding organizing a Special Interest Group (SIG) on Financial Planning. We have now had a sufficient number of replies to hold the first meeting of this group.

This first meeting would serve three main purposes: assess interest in the topic, identify possible areas for discussion, and set out a schedule and agendas for further meetings.

What has come out of the discussion to this point is that a general meeting each semester would probably suffice as a start with possibly smaller meetings in between. Topics such as the following could be examined:

* making the most of the SFU Sun Life and other mutual fund programs,
* stock and options trading,
* working effectively with financial planners,
* limiting taxes during retirement and when we leave our estate behind, and
* review the purposes that might be achieved by such an interest group.

I will bring along my laptop and a projector so that we can access the Internet if we wish. I will also do a very, very short review of some PowerPoint slides that we presented at the financial seminar we conducted two years ago. If you have any frames you would like to include for discussion send them along.

We can continue the discussion over lunch for those wishing to stay around. Instant coffee will be available during the meeting. — Marvin Wideen