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An Investment Club Is a Great Learning Experience
Excerpted from The
Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Investing by Douglas Gerlach.
There's strength in numbers," as the old saying goes, and that just
might be the motto of thousands and thousands of investment clubs now
in existence. An investment club is a small group of individuals who
pool their money and invest in a single portfolio. Most clubs are
formed by groups of friends, neighbors, co-workers, church members, or
relatives, who meet once a month and decide how the club will invest
their money. Clubs have their own bank and/or brokerage accounts, and
elect officers to run the meetings and handle the club's
operations.
You don't need a lot of money to be a member of an investment
club. Many clubs require their members to contribute just $20 to $50 a
month. But when you add up the contributions of a dozen or so members,
you can see how clubs can quickly build up a sizeable portfolio.
But the biggest advantage of investment clubs is that they provide
a terrific educational opportunity for their members. Most successful
clubs don't focus on "making lots of money," but rather on
contributing to the investment education of their
members. Fortunately, these clubs usually find that profits will
follow!
The National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) can
provide much of the information you need to know about starting your
own investment club. Their Web site includes an area
all about investment clubs; just click on the "About Clubs" link on
the main page of their site.
Another source of information about clubs can be found online at IClubCentral. This site
provides a directory of resources about investment clubs from all over
the Web. Click on "Articles" to learn more about clubs and how they
work, or "Software" to find computer programs that can help your club
in its operations or stock analysis.
Another feature of Investment Club Central is its directory of Web
sites of investment clubs. While you might think that this listing
might be great to find an existing club to join, you should remember
that most clubs are close-knit groups and don't always welcome
outsiders as members. With that in mind, you can still visit the sites
of over one hundred clubs linked here at Investment Club Central to
see firsthand how other clubs work. And maybe, just maybe, you'll find
a club in your area that might be looking for new members.
Whether you join or start a regular or online investment club,
you're sure to find that being a member of a club is a great learning
experience!
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