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Cljarlotte
THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1997
8A
STRICTLY BUSINESS
Finding
superior
returns
CHARLES ROSS
Your
Personal
Finance
Doctor nips, tucks
There is a simple way for
investors interested in mutual
funds to devise a plan for mak
ing superior returns. You don’t
have to do exhausting research.
You don’t even have to know
who manages the funds. Just
invest in index funds.
Index hmds mimic the perfor
mance of a particular financial
market index by buying most, if
not aU, of the stocks that make
up the index. It may sound bor
ing, but great returns make a lot
of sense. Be aware, though, that
index funds are not perfect.
Expenses will eat up a bit of
your return, preventing the fund
from measuring up to its mar
ket’s standards. On the other
hand, your index fund probably
will outperform many, if not
most, other stock funds. All it
takes to discover these winning
funds is a little research.
Choosing an index fund
Right now there are a many of
index funds to choose from, and
an investor Call build a highly
diversified, balanced portfolio
with onlv index funds. 'This tvpe
of portfolio composition will cost
about one-fourth as much as a
portfolio of actively managed
funds.
There are two critical consider
ations in selecting an index
fund. First, pay no load. There is
no excuse for charging a sales
fee for an index fund. A commis
sion is really a fee for the invest
ment professional’s advice, and
no broker can really provide use
ful advice or insight about future
performance of an index fund.,
The second key consideration
is the fund’s expenses. Go with
the fund that has the lowest
expense ratio. The average index
fund that follows the Standard
and Poor’s five hundred has an
expense ratio of point forty-five.
So look into this great option.
Alternative to index fimds
Much of the growth of index
funds is based on what is known
as the efficient-market theory.
This theory holds that even the
most savvy of money managers
cannot beat the market, because
all the vital information about
any given security is widely
known and has already been fac
tored into the price.
Some experts think, however,
that the efficient market theory
does not apply equally to certain
types of companies and niche
markets, such as small company
growth stocks. ’These exceptions
create opportimities for sharp
investors, because they may not
follow the expected patterns of
growth. But that situation may
not exist for much longer. More
funds are being created to cover
specialized markets. So keep an
eye out for developing opportuni
ties in the index fund arena.
Home equity loans
If you’re a homeowner, you will
be targeted for a second mort
gage, or home equity loan. And
they’re attractive, often having a
low introductory rate, followed
by a “prime-plus-one” rate for
five years or more, with no clos
ing costs and no up-front fees.
Interest payments will- be tax-
deductible, and you can access
funds by check or credit card.
'This a home equity mortgage
market is being fueled by the
1986 Tax Reform Act which pre
served tax write-offs for interest
on home equity loans but elimi
nated interest deductions on
many other traditional loans
like cars and credit cards.
See INDEX on page 9A
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
For years, plastic surgery has
been off limits for African
Americans.
Seen as a rejection of black
ness, it was unpopular and
problematic for African
Americans who decided to have
their skin tightened or noses
made a shade smaller.
But times, they are a-chang-
ing.
More Afiican are having facial
surgeries, creating a need for
qualified surgeons who under
stand that a smaller nose
doesn’t necessarily mean ‘a
Michael Jackson.’
Dr. Robert E. Harley, who
recently opened his East
Boulevard practice, specializes
in facial plasti - facial recon
structions including eye lid
surgery, nose jobs, face lifts and
chemical peels.
A graduate of Brown
University and Harvard
Medical School, Harley, 33, did
his residency at Michigan’s
Henry Ford Hospital. Ford
boasts one of the busiest plastic
smgery clinics in the nation.
“My background is in ear, nose
and throat,” Harley said. “ENT
physicians do the largest nmn-
ber of facial plastic procedures
in the country.”
Harley trained with one of the
busiest surgeons in Michigan,
which helped his skills.
“I got a vride exposure to vari
ous facial plastic cases,” he said.
That exposure led him to want
to specialize in the field.
“It’s a lovely area within the
field of ENT,” he said. “It allows
a surgeon to shape a patient’s
appearance. A lot of times you
have individuals who are not
content with certain proportions
of their facial anatomy. You can
sit down with them and try to
shape a plan that will make
them happier individuals.”
Dr. Robert Harley specializes in faciai reconstrcution
Reaching out to the deaf
AT&T leads
the way with
special phones
By Sharon Drake
SPECIAL TO THE POST
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. -
Almost 1 million African
Americans are deaf or have
some difficulty hearing.
Through a public education
campaign, featunng the deaf
actress Marlee Matlin, AT&T
is raising awareness about a
sophisticated telecommunica
tions .service that enables hear
ing-impaired people to use the
telephone as easily as anyone
else.
AT&T was the first telecom
munications company to offer
a 24-hom' service for the deaf
10 years ago.
“We want to spread the word
about this service because the
need for it is growing; ’Two mil
lion Americans are deaf, 20
million more are hard of hear
ing and baby boomers are
rapidly aging,” said Susan
Hobart, general manager of
AT&T Accessible
Communications Services. “It
is clear that people need to
know more.”
At AT&T’s 11 relay centers,
specially-trained operators act
as go-betweens for the hearing
impaired and the hearing.
Using a text-telephone
equipped with a special key
board, the hearing impaired
type messages that operators
relay by vocalizing them to the
hearing party. This service is
used to conduct virtually any
type of phone call — finm con
ducting business to ordering
pizza, as well as chats with
family members and friends.
Hearing customers can also
use the service to place calls to
text-telephone users. There is
PHOTO/AT&T
American Telephone & Telegraph is raising awareness about its efforts to provide teiephones
that hearing-impaired peopie can use. About 1 miiiion African Americans are deaf.
no additional cost for the ser
vice; calls are billed at regular
rates.
For a decade, AT&T has
operated relay service centers
for deaf, hard-of-hearing and
speech disabled customers.
The company currently offers
the service in 17 states for both
local and long-distance calls.
These real-time conversations
can be placed 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
Discount plans and standard
operator services, such as
hilling inquiries, operator ser
vices and directory assistance,
are also available to users. For
customers who speak Spanish
or French, relay operators can
provide access to the AT&T
Language Line, an over-the-
phone interpretation service
that translates from English to
more than 140 languages.
50th birthday bash
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Charlotte Post Publisher Gerald Johnson tries out his best dance moves with Post columnist Melodye Micere Stewart at his 50th
birthday party. The gala, held at Renaissance Place, brought together Johnson’s friends, relatives and business associates. At
right, the boss’ baby photo.
Money
Management
Do’s and
don’ts of
tax plans
By Amanda S. Danchi
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Tax planning should be a
year-round activity. But, if you
didn’t get around to doing all
you had hoped, it’s not too late
to improve your tax life. The
key is to do a thorough job of
identifying deductions so you
don’t miss opportunities to save
tax dollars. To help you get
started, the N.C. Association of
CPAs offers the following list of
do’s and don’ts for making the
most of deductions available to
you.
Do:
• deduct interest you pay on
home equity lines of credit.
Although personal interest is
no longer deductible, you may
deduct interest on up to
$100,000 of debt secured by
your house, regardless of how
you use the money.
• deduct all state and local
taxes you paid in 1996. Also, if
you bought or sold a house, be
sure to deduct the portion of
the year’s real estate taxes you
were charged on your closing
statement. It's easy to forget
this deduction because you
don't write a separate check -
the taxes are deducted from the
sales proceeds or included in
the amount you pay at settle
ment.
• deduct investment interest.
If you borrowed money to buy
investments, the interest is
deductible as investment inter
est-limited to the year’s net
investment income.
• claim a deduction for trans
portation costs and out-of-pock
et expenses you incur in con
nection with charity volunteer
work. The cost of mileage, tele
phone calls, and supplies, such
as stationery and stamps, are
all deductible. If you failed to
keep track last year, be sure to
start a tax-deduction diary this
year.
• deduct your health insur
ance premiums if you are self-
employed. For 1996, you may
deduct 30 percent of the premi
ums you paid. ’This amount will
increase .to 80 percent over a
ten-year period. The deduction
is treated as an adjustment to
gross income on your Form
1040. According to the IRS, this
is one of the most frequently
overlooked tax deductions.
• deduct early withdrawal
penalties when you cash in a
Certificate of Deposit or other
time deposits before maturity.
You can deduct the penalty
even if you do not itemize your
deductions.
Do claim a child care credit if
you paid someone to take care
of your dependent child so you
could work. Depending on your
income, a credit percentage of
20 percent to 30 percent
applies to your expenses of up
See TAX on page 9A