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Introduction to Investment Clubs

What did people who were Fools at heart do before there was a Motley Fool? Well, many of them participated -- and still participate -- in investment clubs.

Investing has long been something that people generally did not discuss amongst themselves. It was perceived as so mysterious and difficult that those without MBAs shouldn't try messing with it, lest they lose their entire nest egg in some silly blunder. Most people just closed their eyes and handed over their life savings to the Suspendered Ones on Wall Street, hoping for the best. Except for a small but growing band of merry investors, that is.

These exceptions to the rule were often members of investment clubs. They met regularly, discussing investing in general and various specific stocks. They pooled their money and plunged into the market. They took control of their own finances and did it… together. In many ways, investment clubs have been a precursor to Fooldom. Indeed, the Motley Fool has been called "the world's largest investment club."

At the core of Foolishness is community. Readers across the globe share thoughts, asking and answering questions in message boards, chats, and featured articles. Communities of Intel investors bat around opinions on the future of personal computing. People interested in Coca-Cola discuss how fast the company can grow and whether the stock is currently a good buy.

Most of this give and take occurs electronically in Fooldom. But starting now, we're taking a huge step backward, toward the time-tested, rewarding tradition of investment clubs. Our online forum will continue to grow every day. But we're now supplementing it by inviting all of our readers to consider forming or joining investment clubs.

Intrigued? Read through the articles in this area and consider whether joining an investment club is something you might want to do. Also consider purchasing our Fool primer, Investment Clubs: How to Start and Run One the Motley Fool Way. This modest tome (80+ pages) covers all the basics of forming and running a club, including topics from deciding whether to join or create a club and recruiting members to tracking club accounting and evaluating your club's performance.

Next: What is an Investment Club? »

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