National Group Aids Investors and Investment Clubs
The Times’ recent Money Make-Over for a Southland investment club spurred many readers’ interest in either forming a club, joining one or improving the club they’re already in.
Many people asked for information about clubs. A good source is the National Assn. of Investors Corp., an umbrella organization for clubs nationwide.
NAIC is a Royal Oak, Mich.-based nonprofit group founded in 1951. It counts 37,500 investment clubs and 733,000 individual investors nationwide.
Individual membership is $39 a year; club membership dues are $40 a year plus $14 per member, but you don’t have to join the organization to take advantage of many of its educational programs and materials.
For instance, anyone can contact NAIC to request a basic investor’s kit, free of charge, which outlines the organization’s educational programs and offers tips on starting an investment club.
Among NAIC products that investment club members and potential members may find useful:
* NAIC’s Official Guide to Starting and Running a Profitable Investment Club ($10 for members, $20 nonmembers).
* The NAIC Stock Study Course, a 12-lesson at-home crash course in investing principles ($77 for members, $97 nonmembers).
* NAIC Investor’s Toolkit, a software program that helps analyze stocks and keep track of the stocks in your portfolio ($159 for members, $199 nonmembers).
To contact NAIC you can call toll-free (877) ASK-NAIC (or [877] 275-6242). Or write to NAIC, P.O. Box 220, Royal Oak, MI 48068.
If you have access to the Internet, you can go to the NAIC Web site at https://www.better-investing.org.
People who want to join an existing investment club or take part in local events can call or write the main NAIC office above for local chapter contacts. In Southern California, there are separate Los Angeles and Orange County NAIC chapters.
