Investment Clubs: Is There Safety in Numbers?
By Tiffany Bass Bukow, Founder of MsMoney.com
How many women feel a little jittery when thinking about investing in the stock market? When interest rates are low, it is difficult to achieve long-term financial goals by leaving money in CD’s. Women are generally risk averse and steer clear of the stock market because they are afraid they will lose their money.
Investing in a vehicle that can provide higher returns, such as the stock market, is often exactly what women need to do if they want to retire comfortably. After all, they earn less than men, take time out of the workforce and live longer, so they have to be more aggressive in their savings and investing plan.
No one says women have to go venture into uncharted territory alone. They can invite a few friends to explore the many paths and rewards of investing. Team investing has a friendly ring for women novices. There is safety in numbers isn’t there? Typically women rely on each other for all kinds of advice, why not advice of a financial nature?
I can’t help but be reminded of a trip I took to the Amazon a few years ago. My husband and I went piranha fishing with a local guide in his small wooden canoe. Imagine our shock when we saw two medium sized dogs swimming across a narrow channel of the Amazon River. One was brown and the other black and though their pace was hurried, they didn’t seem to be alarmed by the imminent danger lurking below them. There must have been something compelling on the other side for those crazy canines to venture into piranha-infested waters in order to reach their goal. The guide simply looked at us and said; “They give each other courage to cross the river together!”
Isn’t that what we do as humans? Find courage and safety in numbers? The stock market can feel a little like the Amazon – treacherous and unpredictable, especially if you have ever lost money in it or have never invested. Most of the feelings people have around it that prevent them from investing are centered around fear. Women especially need to move away from analysis paralysis and into action Jackson. So it’s time to lean on a few friends who share similar investment goals and don’t want to be stymied by inaction any longer.
Women investment clubs have historically outperformed men’s clubs. Why you ask? Because women tend to take more time to do research on a company before investing, often subdividing the tasks as a team, and therefore make better qualified decisions. Women also hold their stocks longer then men and are more likely to see a rise over the long term.
Remember, to achieve your personal and financial goals, you must have a plan. To achieve that plan means you have to take control of your money. What better way to do that then with the help and support of those you trust.
Many of you might wonder how an investment club works and how to start one. MsMoney has just the information you are looking for.
What They Are
How They Work
How to Start One
Going Clubbing: Laugh, Eat, Make Money–What Could Be Better?
I also did a little research on the Internet to find some additional articles on Investment Clubs that will be helpful for you. View them in the right column of this page.
Starting and Running a Profitable Investment Club
Is an excellent book choice to jump start your Club.
Tiffany Bass Bukow
Founder
MsMoney.com