Advice on starting an investment club

I am looking to start an investment club, an advice would be appreciated.

Only use other peoples money .. or money you can afford to kiss goodbye to.

Sounds glib I know ... but if you're talkking about stocks and shares .. having no real pressure on whether they go up or down frees you to make sensible and timely decisions.

"The Joy Luck Club" (1989) by Amy Tan is a novel (also movie) about Chinese women who form an investment club.

Each member of the club studied different kinds of investments. Each month they bought shares in the club. They used the money to buy shares in American Companies. By investing regulartly for decades, they made a lot of money. The older members of my family tell us that our family has been investing this way since Grover Cleveland was President of the United States back when the Dow Jones Average was mostly railroad stocks.

Lulu of Britney and Lulu

Our Grandmam? says that if you want to make a small fortune, start with a large fortune. For example Theodore Roosevelt, before he became President, had a large fortune he inherited from his father, which the father had inherited from his father, who made money by investing in New York City realestate during the Panic of 1836. The future president invested his money in cattle in South Dakota. When the cattle froze to death, he had his small fortune.

Britney of Britney and Lulu

So, according to Grandmam?, the moral of Roosevelt's story is that investments should be diversified. That means make more than one investment. Or metaphorically , put your eggs in more than one basket. Small investors can diversify their investments by buying mutual funds. Our great grandmother says that her parents began buying mutual funds in the 1920?s.

Lulu of Britney and Lulu

If one has the time to manage ones own investments, one might start reading the Wall Street Journal. The people in our family, the ones who manage the money, always have their nose in a financial newspaper of some kind. It's like in the Degas Painting, "The Cotton Exchange." The man reading the Newspaper is one of Degas' relatives, but I always imagine that the man is my great grandfather's grandfather, reading the New Orleans Picayune.

Britney

I have a friend that he and his buddies put in $50 a month and invest it. They have set rules prior to joining them, things such as when you can pull your money back out...etc. I have often wanted to start or join one myself.

The problem with investment clubs is that its hard to agree on an invstment that all parties can agree on especially if there are many people involved! Also if the invstements go sour you can not only have many unhappy investors but also many ex-friends as they will not be happy with you that you have lost their money! Something you should seriously consider before you go ahead and start a business club! GOOD LUCK!

make sure that no one is forced to put in more than they can do easy enough, so everyone can have fun

don't just focus on investments, but also go out to a fun meal and make evening out of the club meeting

sounds like you need some money...