| ICLUB Insider |
June 28, 2006 |
THE LATEST NEWS ON
INVESTING SOFTWARE BUILT BY ICLUBCENTRAL INC.
Summary
Surrounded by the delicious irony of holding an investment conference at a casino, CompuFest 2006 was a complete success. Old pals were reunited and new friendships began, as the four-day event hosted more than 600 eager investors against the majestic backdrop of Reno's Sierra Mountains.
After Chapter Director's Training on Thursday, the main event
kicked off on Friday afternoon with packed classrooms. Topics
ranged throughout the weekend from basic software and Windows
skills, to SSG tips, to learning more about advanced stock
analysis tools and techniques. Ann Cuneaz, Phil Keating and
Seymour "Zink" Zeenkov consistently played to standing-room-only
crowds. The completely unofficial ICLUBcentral MVP award goes to
our President, Douglas Gerlach, who heroically stepped in at the
last minute to conduct roughly 372 classes in addition to his own
scheduled presentations. No word on when he'll regain the power
of speech, but we think he'll recover in time for CompuFest '07.
In between classes, many attendees made use of the Computer
Lab, which was constantly staffed by Computer Group Advisory
Board members, Director volunteers, and the ICLUB team.
Users were able to test drive new software and try out the
tips and tricks they had just learned in class, plus receive
troubleshooting advice and face-to-face technical support.
ICLUB's Director of Technical Support, Dan Abraham (the man
in the hat), was in high demand, both for his technical
expertise and gourmet recipes.
The evenings were highlighted by cash bar receptions and
sumptuous dinners -- a Special Thanks goes out to the CGAB
for selecting the menus. The food alone was worth the trip!
Corporate presenters took the stage after most meals,
including representatives from BP, SAP, Swift Energy and
Yum! Brands, among others. In post-dinner ceremonies on
Friday and Saturday nights, Nancy Crays received the
Kenfield-Burris Online Service Award, and Jim Thomas was
recognized with this year's Dick Dwyer Award. Each was well-
deserved and long overdue, and the ICLUB team would like to
extend another round of congratulations.
The weekend ended far too soon, but from the newbies to the
experienced veterans, everyone had a wonderful time. If you
were there, I'm sure you'll agree, and if you couldn't make
it, be sure to make plans for CompuFest 2007 in Dallas. The
team at ICLUBcentral hopes to see you there!
Attention Club Treasurers! Now is your last chance to upgrade your NAIC Club Accounting 2 software to Club Accounting 3 at the reduced price of $124! This discount offer for BetterInvesting members will only last until June 30 after which a full upgrade will cost $169.
Save yourself $45 and upgrade today
With a new theme-based friendly user interface, Club
Accounting 3 helps you understand your club finances, print
reports, share graphs of club performance with other club
members, and prepare club taxes in accordance with federal
tax law. New features in CA 3 include wizards to walk you
through common tasks, context-sensitive help, a "reconcile
accounts" feature, automatic audit functions, an integrated
auto-updater & support verification, and much more. There
will be no federal tax printers for NAIC Club Accounting 2
for the 2006 tax year, so by upgrading today, you'll make
sure that your software is ready to prepare your club's 2006
tax returns. And support for NAIC Club Accounting 2 will end
completely on October 16, 2006, so don't wait until it's too
late!
Remember, you must upgrade your software to stay up-to-date
with the current federal accounting regulations. The recent
changes in the law are not reflected in older versions of
the software, so by upgrading today, you'll make sure that
you're covered for fiscal year 2006.
Your upgrade purchase also includes a printed manual, along
with one full year of Club Accounting Maintenance (a $49
value) that includes all updates to the program when they
are released.
A free demo copy and more information is available on the
ICLUBcentral web site. Upgrade to the power of Club Accounting 3 today
Ralph Seger co-founded Seger-Elvekrog Inc. in
1981 and is now Chairman Emeritus of the firm. He was also a
founder of the Investor Advisory Service, now published by
ICLUBcentral Inc. In this issue, we are pleased to offer the
first of a multi-part series called "Investment Wisdom" that will
offer ICLUB Insider subscribers access to Ralph's wealth of
financial knowledge. Be sure to watch for this space for future
tips from Ralph.
The dictionary defines MANAGE as "to handle or direct with a
degree of skill and to succeed in accomplishing." MANAGEMENT is
defined as "conducting or supervising something and the judicious
use of means to accomplish an end."
With this in mind, the first necessary step of portfolio
management needs to be undertaken before you even get started
creating your portfolio! You must know what it is you're trying
to accomplish with your investments, and what is the end result
you wish to achieve. Yogi Berra is reputed to have said, "If you
don't know where you are going, you are liable to end up
someplace else." Portfolio management is all about ending up
where you want to be, not somewhere else.
All too many portfolios lack well-defined objectives. Start by
mapping out your investment objectives, writing them down and
then reviewing them annually. You would not build a house without
a blueprint or change a room without a plan, right?
Ask yourself the following questions: What is the purpose of your
investment club or your goals as an individual investor? What are
you trying to accomplish? As a club, make certain that all
members agree on a common philosophy of investing. (Remember --
speculative trading is not compatible with our proven philosophy
of investing in well-managed growth companies. Speculation is
like trying to find a greater fool to buy a stock from you, and
is devoid of logical methods of valuation. It depends on tips,
hunches and looking at the past instead of the future.)
There are many investment goals that you might wish to achieve
with your portfolio. These may include:
- To acquire an investment education - to learn by doing
- To retire
- To purchase big ticket items such as a home, car or boat
- To finance the start of a business
- To finance gifts to a charitable institution or those less fortunate
- To manage retirement assets accumulated from a pension or other savings plan
- To preserve your lifestyle
Let's assume that you have established your goals. Your next step
is to consider your risk tolerance. For instance, are you growth
oriented (with a 5 to 10 year time frame) or income oriented
(needing income on which to live currently)? Are you primarily
interested in conservation of nominal principal (keeping what
you've already go) or conservation of purchasing power (making
sure your assets keep pace with inflation)?
If your objective is income, then the concept of total return
should be considered. If your objective is growth, then you
should buy growth stocks -- the kind of companies that
ICLUBcentral's software tools are ideally suited to analyze.
(Obviously, slow growth and some cyclical stocks, along with
fixed income investments, are not appropriate for a growth
portfolio.)
Now you're ready to start investing! If your account is currently
all in cash or its equivalent, you will buy securities that will
match your investment objectives. If a portfolio already exists,
each and every security must be reviewed to determine if it will
contribute towards helping that portfolio meet your investment
objectives.
Portfolio management is just as important to investment success
and the ultimate realization of your investment goals as stock
selection. Without logical portfolio management, your results are
likely to be as scattered and unpredictable as fall leaves blown
around by the wind. Portfolio management is the necessary
continuation of the stock selection process, and includes much
more than simply monitoring the prices of the securities that you
own. It involves ascertaining if corporate management is
continuing to produce the fundamentals that led you originally to
buy the stock.
Read past newsletters, subscribe, or unsubscribe at:
http://www.iclub.com/newsletters/
© Copyright 2006 ICLUBcentral Inc. All rights reserved.
Some ICLUBcentral products use the investing methodologies of BetterInvesting, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to investor education. BetterInvesting assumes no liability or obligations with respect to the investment education information or other content presented in the ICLUB Insider. For more information on BetterInvesting, please visit http://www.betterinvesting.org.
|
