Investment clubs

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17. Regular meetings - the key to success

The key to the success of the investment club, both as a savings scheme and as an interesting hobby, is holding and controlling interesting monthly meetings.

The typical agenda of a meeting will be:

• Minutes of the previous meeting and matters arising
• Changes in the portfolio since last meeting
• Treasurer's report - appropriate reports for investment discussion
• Reports from people allocated tasks at the last meeting
• Discussion and decisions on investments
• Any other business
• Date, time and location of next meeting

The Treasurer's reports are important because they give the discussion a reference point. The key reports are:

1. The Cash Account
   Movements in and out of the club's bank account, and the current balance.
2. The Capital Account
   A statement of the units owned by members and the prices at which they were bought/sold.
3. The Assets Register
   A statement of the cash and shares which the club owns. It should be up to the date of the meeting if possible.

The first two of these are administrative reports rather than reports which inform a 'what shall we invest in' type of discussion. The third is germane to such a discussion because it shows the current make-up of the club's portfolio.

Additional reports which can be useful are:

4. Summary of return
   An up to date account of the performance of all the shares measured using Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) if possible.

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