Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting An Investment Club

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Sarah Young Fisher provides excellent value for your $18.95 spent - 325 pages of useful information plus Glossary and Resources. Her thesis is important, even if it is more subtle than explicit: running an investment club is a bit more difficult than it looks. The best proof of this resides in the now famous Beardstown Ladies who thought they were earning 23 percent on their money, only to learn that the true figure was 9 percent. Put another way, as good as they thought they were, the ladies lacked the technical expertise to calculate their rate of return. Sarah is very clear about the start up costs (about $1200) and monthly costs (about $150) paid to lawyers, accountants, and book keepers - no small consideration. Then, of course, there are taxes to consider .... This is a good deal more complex than organizing a hiking club, and yet it is supposed to be FUN! Her most valuable piece of advice is: not even a good financial advisor has the same stake in your money as you do. Her most futile piece of advice is: don't get emotionally attached to a stock - a bit like asking humans not to be human. The contention that most clubs probably need a professional financial advisor to get started almost seems to take some fun out of the group adventure. Essentially, however, the book is very comprehensive, easy to read and understand, and an invaluable guide to any club starting up. Indeed, the book itself is a good investment!

I was hesistant to purchase any book that in its title makes reference to the reader being an "idiot," but this book gives the fledgling investment club a good head start in organizing itself. The chapters progress logically from the history of investment clubs, to tax considerations, to keeping records of investments. Some sections are necessarily abridged, and the author points the reader to other, more robust sources (you should consult sources dedicated to the topic of stocks/mutual funds/bonds rather than rely on the section in this book). Each chapter gives good tips and warnings on how to run the club.

One topic that the author seemed to treat lightly is online brokerages and trading. The author advocates seeking the advice of a full-service broker -- something that fledgling investment clubs may not be able to afford -- to handle the club's trading. Our investment club extensively uses online brokerage services and online resources to keep the monthly club contribution low.

I love that the book assumes you know nothing about investment clubs & starts from the begining. It really breaks everything down for you.

The product was just as it was described,and it shipped the day after I ordered it.