Investment Clubs
Interested in starting an investment club? The first two items on the list have been prepared by Canadians for Canadians and both include information on taxation. Investment clubs have been in existence for many years in the US, so, as you might expect, there are many more books for Americans. They make interesting reading, particularly when they cover the question of how to maintain members’ interest in the club.
Inquirers often call investorlearning.ca to say that they are interested in joining an investment club and they ask how they can find a club in their area. Clubs do not advertise for members, in fact clubs are formed rather than joined. It is important that the members of a club have a common tolerance for risk. If a club decides to seek new members it is most likely that existing members will be asked to invite an interested a friend or colleague to sample club activity. Club members may take a vote to extend membership to individuals to whom they have been introduced. This will depend on the club’s constitution.
In instances where clubs have web sites, see overleaf, they are most likely to post their constitution, information about their investment successes and also to list activities that have kept members interested in the club.
References:
HOW TO START AND RUN AN INVESTMENT CLUB FOR FUN AND LEARNING. Jones, Dominic. ed. Toronto,ON: Canadian Securities Institute, 1998.
CANADIAN INVESTMENT CLUB KIT Investor’s Association of Canada Toronto, ON: Investor’s Association of Canada, 1997
THE BEARDSTOWN LADIES' COMMON SENSE INVESTMENT GUIDE: HOW WE BEAT THE STOCK MARKET - AND HOW YOU CAN TOO.The Beardstown Ladies InvestmentClub; Leslie Whitaker. New York, NY: Hyperion, 1994.
Note: many people became interested in forming an investment club after reading about how the Beardstown Ladies managed to generate great returns. Sadly their calculations were flawed. Hyperion, publisher of several of their books, has been sued. See http://www.beardstownladiessettlement.com