This article goes into some of the ground rules that need to be set up prior to starting your investment club. All members should be made clear of these rules before becoming a member and not have accumulated a large number of debt loans.
Starting your own investment club should not be anything which gives you worries. Since you’ll be working with your family and friends you should be at ease with those around you in your club. You can be assured of having a successful club if you follow a few general and commonsense rules from the beginning.
One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of new club founders make is that they do not tell the club members upfront that they may lose money with their real estate investments or trades that they make, in the beginning. Not every real estate investment or trade that the club will make will be a winner, and this is especially true during the first few months of the club. Since many of the investment clubs which are created do not have many members who are familiar with buying real estate or making stock trades, it is a learn as you go experience for the majority of the club members. You must inform potential members before they join that the money they put up for investment should be money that they can stand to lose, and not suffer any hardship because of the loss.
While we are discussing money, you need to make sure everyone agrees upon what the contribution will be for each member on a monthly basis. The amount of the monthly contribution should not be more than what any one member can afford to put in monthly. If all of your members but one can afford to put $100 into the club account, and the one can only put $75 into the club account monthly, then everyone should only put $75 into the club account. All monthly contributions must be equal to sustain the equality of the group and its integrity. The most common monthly contribution amount used for investment groups is $20 per month, but you and your group are not bound by this amount by any means.
Make the club official by partnership agreement and have everyone who wants to be a member of the club sign the agreement. It is crucial to the success of the club for everyone to know what is expected of each individual, and the group as a whole. By having a signed membership agreement and a copy given to each member, there can be no disagreements later about what the club was built upon.
Do not try to start a large investment group. Having too many members can cause many problems, such as a greater risk for arguments and fragmentation of the group. For your group to work as a team, you need to keep your team to a manageable level of no more than fifteen. Most investment clubs do not exceed 10 members.
Starting your own investment club should not be something which makes you nervous or causes undue concerns. Concentrate on starting with people you know and trust and create a group that can get together and have fun, and you will see that your club will be a huge success.
These rules are the basic rules that need to be implemented into the club. If you have any other rules that you deem necessary make them aware to other members before you begin your investment club.
Hans Anderson
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