Investment clubs

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6. Preparing to launch a new investment club

You might feel that you want to start your own club rather than join one that already exists. Before charging ahead, ask yourself:

• How much time have you got to devote to the club?
• Have you already got two or three friends who have said they'd be interested in joining?
• Do you have a clear investing philosophy for the club?
• Who is going to handle the key administrative tasks? If not you, who?
• Are you temperamentally suited to the collective decision-making? If you like to get your own way on everything, you might find it difficult to accept democratic decisions made by the club.
• Can you get at least one other person to agree to take an active role in running the club?

If you pass those tests, you can start thinking about creating the club and recruiting members. Ideally, you will have several friends who have already indicated interest, and if so, the next steps are to discuss:

1. the aims of the club
2. the strategies and methods you will use
3. the types of companies you will invest in
4. the skills and knowledge you expect of your members
5. the constitution and rules

Nothing has to be decided at this stage. But it is important that the founder members of the club are on the same wavelength before you start to recruit new members.

1. What is an investment club? 2. A simple explanation of how it works 3. Why join an investment club? 4. Deciding on your aims 5. Joining an existing club 6. Preparing to launch a new investment club 7. The draft constitution and rules 8. Drafting the investment strategy 9. Example of an investment strategy 10. Attracting members to your club 11. Preparing for the inaugural meeting 12. The inaugural meeting - appointment of officers 13. The inaugural meeting - key decisions 14. Things to do after the inaugural meeting 15. Starting the processes 16. Running the first meeting 17. Regular meetings - the key to success 18. The cash account 19. The capital account 20. The asset register 21. The annual general meeting 22. Tax 23. Performance measurement 24. Dealing with a member leaving 25. Conclusion

• ProShare Investment Clubs Looseleaf Manual
• The Motley Fool Guide to Investment Clubs
• The Company of Successful Investors