CLUB OPERATIONS

HOW INVESTMENT CLUBS WORK

Individuals form an investment club when they pool their money to make joint investments in search of profits. Many clubs are composed of family, friends, and neighbors — people who have close personal ties. Other clubs come together through affiliations like work, church, and professional organizations. Traditionally, investment clubs have invested strictly in the stock market. However, increasingly, they are venturing into exchange-traded funds (EFTs), cryptocurrencies, and other modern investment vehicles.

Investment club members come together based on a preset meeting calendar. During these meetings, they typically discuss market trends, present new investment opportunities, execute trades, make portfolio management decisions, and discuss topics related to the business of investing.

From the outside, an investment club may appear to be a casual venture. However, most operate as a state-registered, tax-paying entity whereby each member owns a share of the business equal to their contributed investment. For this reason, some investment clubs refer to their shareholders as “partners” instead of “members.”

Why Join a club

KEY BENEFITS

There are many benefits of joining an investment club.

Meet new people and build friendships

The club environment is ripe with the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals with similar financial aspirations. Investing with these same people helps build lasting relationships.

Increase your investment knowledge

A club can be a good resource for investing in your education. The club environment is a great place to learn through the club’s formal education program or from other more experienced club members.

Gain a model for personal investments

A club can provide a good blueprint for making decisions in your personal investment portfolio and also deliver insights into personal portfolio management.

Maximize return on investment (ROI)

With a larger pool of money, a club offers the opportunity to earn higher returns than would an individual investor. Investing with others is also an excellent way to minimize risk.

Learn to manage a business

Most investment club members actively co-manage their club, which is no different from managing a business with profit goals, organizational governance, and owner accountabilities.

Do it for fun

Club members often find it fun and exciting to track the performance of a company in which they’ve invested. Nothing compares to having fun and making money at the same time.