An investment club is a group of individuals who meet for the purpose of pooling money and investing; members typically meet periodically to make investment decisions as a group through a voting process and recording of minutes, or gather information and perform investment transactions outside the group.[1] In the US the upper limit for the value of an investment club's worth is $25m.[2][failed verification] There is no lower limit. Investment clubs provide members a means to learn about markets, while meeting and working with people who have similar interests.[3]
Although people have been investing in groups for thousands of years, the world's first investment club was allegedly established in Texas in 1898 back in the days of the Wild West when few investments could be considered safe. Investment clubs were seen as an ideal way of spreading the risk– away from just cattle.[4]
While the first investment club on record dates back to the 1800s in Western America, various online communities devoted to this type of investing have recently emerged and have contributed to the personal investing boom in the United States. One of the reasons that people come together in investment clubs is to learn how to invest. In Britain investment clubs took off in the 1950s, but the formation rate fell during the 2008 financial crisis.[5]
Starting an Investment Club
Industry observers recommend prospective members adhere to these guidelines:[6]
Consult a tax adviser on the taxation implications of the club's selected legal structure
Establish an investment mission, policy and goals that allow active participation before investing
Draw up a written operating or membership agreement covering asset management rules and membership changes
Evaluate fees for different tools and platforms to maximize returns.[7]
This form of investment club usually meets to develop interest in investing and the intricacies of investing for minors, usually high school students. They typically are led by an adult who has experience in professional investing.
Stock, Mutual Fund or Bond Investment Clubs
These clubs are groups of people that pool their money to purchase stocks, stock options, mutual funds or bonds. Many clubs are educational in nature with objectives in line with learning how to make smart long-term investments. The National Association of Investors Corporation is a non-profit organization of many investment clubs with this purpose. These clubs may decide to buy or sell investments typically based on a majority votes.
Club objectives do vary and in the U.S. the Securities and Exchange Commission may require that a club be registered depending on the intent of investment. The SEC distinguishes between clubs on the basis of several laws including the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, which are concerned with whether the club issues membership interests that are effectively securities.
Club officers and members are not normally required to hold a securities license as long as they refrain from soliciting compensation in exchange for financial advice or soliciting the sale of stock, mutual funds or bonds in third-party companies. One allowed exception is that a CEO / President or CFO of a C Corporation is allowed to solicit stock or bonds in their corporation as long as they provide a private placement memorandum that complies with the law to their new shareholders. One additional requirement is that non-accredited investors must be Directors of the C Corporation in addition to being shareholders.
Real Estate Investment Clubs
Clubs of this type are most commonly publicized as a real estate investment group or company, rather than a club. The legal distinction according to the SEC is having 100 members or less. Whereas, a real estate investment group would normally have more than 100 investors. These clubs normally buy real estate or notes (loans originated by a licensed third party) to benefit from: cash flow, appreciation of assets, instant equity, tax benefits from deductions or qualified dividends, group buying power, monthly or daily compounding, higher liquidity and diversification of risk. Real estate transactions are limited to 35 participants to meet the legal requirements of many states for being closely held, and can be legally organized as a sole proprietorship transferring assets to a group living trust, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, general partnership or C corporation.
Business Investment Clubs
These clubs are often called incubators and are formed to purchase businesses that generate cash flow and equity. Investment types range from a group of people buying lower risk franchises with at least two years of significant revenues and positive cash flow like major fast food franchises, gas stations and hotels to higher risk businesses without an income history like start-ups, inventions, or product patenting and prototype development.
Hybrid Investment Clubs
Hybrid clubs are a combination of two or more of the above types of investment clubs. Typically, real estate investment clubs are lower in risk and provide higher returns of 21% to 70% than stock, mutual fund or bond investment clubs due to the ongoing need for housing and population growth. Business investment clubs have about equal risk when compared to stock, mutual fund or bond investment clubs. However, business investment clubs have several additional benefits which include significantly higher returns and lower operating expenses measured by the net profit per year divided by the amount of cash necessary to purchase the business. Additionally, you can also hire yourself or family members to work in the business as employees.
Self-directed investment clubs
A self-directed investment club is a type of investment club in which members do not make financial contributions, but rather meet on a regular or informal basis to share stock tips and advice, and then invest in their individual portfolios, not in a common club portfolio (as is more typical of investment clubs).[8] The phrase was coined by financial author and investment club expert Douglas Gerlach in Investment Clubs for Dummies.[9]
Conduct of business
In order to operate an investment club, business must be conducted in a somewhat orderly fashion. The level of formality will vary based on the club type. A typical club will have informal channels of communication via mailing lists, Twitter accounts or message boards. In addition to the informal channels of communication, an investment club must set up formal channels of communication to conduct business. Typically, this is done with monthly meetings. A typical meeting agenda will include all the normal activity you would expect in an organization with elected officials. A typical meeting agenda: [citation needed]
Roll call
Old business– list of any unfinished business from the previous meeting.
Summary of votes– Summary of all voted decisions from the previous meeting
NAV presentation– NAV or the Net Asset Value of the club will indicate what each club member is worth on paper.
Available funds– a presentation of Available funds to invest.
Presentation of current research– each member assigned to present an investment option will present his/her research.
Vote to hold or invest– A vote to hold cash, sell current assets or invest in one of the investment options
Investment vote– A final vote on an investment strategy specifying an exact amount to invest and strategy to execute that investment.
Other business– Typically, other business will include proxy voting needs or other day-to-day business operational needs. This could also include options to change a brokerage house, or discussions of counter party risk.
Formal close of meeting
Legal structure
United Kingdom
Investment clubs are normally unincorporated associations. Members' contributions are converted into 'units' whose value rises and falls in line with the value of the underlying investments. The clubs are not taxed corporately, and members should account individually for their share of profits and capital gains.[10]
United States
Investment clubs are generally formed as general partnerships, but could also be formed as limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, corporations, or sole proprietorship that transfer real estate assets to a group living trust (similar to a family trust). While an investment club could incorporate, the double tax treatment on corporate distributions makes the corporate structure less desirable than a partnership except in the case when a C Corporation pays out qualified dividends after deducting allowable expenses. Typically, a general partnership does not generate any tax liability on its own; instead, any tax liability is passed through to members each year. However, income taxes are generally much higher than taxes on qualified dividends.
In order to understand the legal structure that an investment club should choose, the club should first understand its club type. Each of the different club types will have different legal requirements as well as different reporting requirements. Typically, the SEC only requires reporting for investment groups with over 100 members, which is reclassified as an investment group, not an investment club. Publicly held offerings like a Real Estate Investment Trust as known as a REIT also have additional reporting requirements.
Tax implications
Investment club accounting software can facilitate the management of a club's books and the preparation of tax filings.
In the United States Investment club partnerships may have to file Form 1065 and Schedule K-1s with the IRS each year, and with States that require partnership filings.[11]
In the United Kingdom investment clubs and their members are required to submit form 185(new) to HMRC each year.[12]
↑ Dunnan, Nancy (May 1, 2007). How to invest $50-$5,000: the small investor's step-by-step plan for low. Harper Paperbacks; 9th edition. p.58. ISBN978-0-06-112982-7.
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products. It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit."
A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-invested in the business. The current year profit as well as the retained earnings of previous years are available for distribution; a corporation is usually prohibited from paying a dividend out of its capital. Distribution to shareholders may be in cash or, if the corporation has a dividend reinvestment plan, the amount can be paid by the issue of further shares or by share repurchase. In some cases, the distribution may be of assets.
In finance, equity is an ownership interest in property that may be offset by debts or other liabilities. Equity is measured for accounting purposes by subtracting liabilities from the value of the assets owned. For example, if someone owns a car worth $24,000 and owes $10,000 on the loan used to buy the car, the difference of $14,000 is equity. Equity can apply to a single asset, such as a car or house, or to an entire business. A business that needs to start up or expand its operations can sell its equity in order to raise cash that does not have to be repaid on a set schedule.
In financial accounting, a balance sheet is a summary of the financial balances of an individual or organization, whether it be a sole proprietorship, a business partnership, a corporation, private limited company or other organization such as government or not-for-profit entity. Assets, liabilities and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date, such as the end of its financial year. A balance sheet is often described as a "snapshot of a company's financial condition". It is the summary of each and every financial statement of an organization.
A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a corporation. An LLC is not a corporation under the laws of every state; it is a legal form of a company that provides limited liability to its owners in many jurisdictions. LLCs are well known for the flexibility that they provide to business owners; depending on the situation, an LLC may elect to use corporate tax rules instead of being treated as a partnership, and, under certain circumstances, LLCs may be organized as not-for-profit. In certain U.S. states, businesses that provide professional services requiring a state professional license, such as legal or medical services, may not be allowed to form an LLC but may be required to form a similar entity called a professional limited liability company (PLLC).
In finance, valuation is the process of determining the value of a (potential) investment, asset, or security. Generally, there are three approaches taken, namely discounted cashflow valuation, relative valuation, and contingent claim valuation.
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares. Shareholders are able to transfer their shares to others without any effects to the continued existence of the company.
Incorporation is the formation of a new corporation. The corporation may be a business, a nonprofit organization, sports club, or a local government of a new city or town.
A real estate investment trust is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping centers, hotels and commercial forests. Some REITs engage in financing real estate.
An income trust is an investment that may hold equities, debt instruments, royalty interests or real properties. It is especially useful for financial requirements of institutional investors such as pension funds, and for investors such as retired individuals seeking yield. The main attraction of income trusts, in addition to certain tax preferences for some investors, is their stated goal of paying out consistent cash flows for investors, which is especially attractive when cash yields on bonds are low. Many investors are attracted by the fact that income trusts are not allowed to make forays into unrelated businesses; if a trust is in the oil and gas business, it cannot buy casinos or motion picture studios.
A privately held company is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the company's stock is offered, owned, traded or exchanged privately, also known as 'over-the-counter'. Related terms are unlisted company, unquoted company and private equity.
Business valuation is a process and a set of procedures used to estimate the economic value of an owner's interest in a business. Here various valuation techniques are used by financial market participants to determine the price they are willing to pay or receive to effect a sale of the business. In addition to estimating the selling price of a business, the same valuation tools are often used by business appraisers to resolve disputes related to estate and gift taxation, divorce litigation, allocate business purchase price among business assets, establish a formula for estimating the value of partners' ownership interest for buy-sell agreements, and many other business and legal purposes such as in shareholders deadlock, divorce litigation and estate contest.
Real estate investing involves the purchase, management and sale or rental of real estate for profit. Someone who actively or passively invests in real estate is called a real estate entrepreneur or a real estate investor. Some investors actively develop, improve or renovate properties to make more money from them.
A self-directed individual retirement account is an individual retirement account (IRA) which allows alternative investments for retirement savings. Some examples of these alternative investments are real estate, private mortgages, private company stock, oil and gas limited partnerships, precious metals, digital assets, horses and livestock, and intellectual property. The increased investment options available in self-directed IRAs prompted the SEC to issue a public notice in 2011 due an increased risk of fraud in alternative assets.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to finance:
Leaseback, short for "sale-and-leaseback", is a financial transaction in which one sells an asset and leases it back for the long term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done for fixed assets, notably real estate, as well as for durable and capital goods such as airplanes and trains. The concept can also be applied by national governments to territorial assets; prior to the Falklands War, the government of the United Kingdom proposed a leaseback arrangement whereby the Falklands Islands would be transferred to Argentina, with a 99-year leaseback period, and a similar arrangement, also for 99 years, had been in place prior to the handover of Hong Kong to mainland China. Leaseback arrangements are usually employed because they confer financing, accounting or taxation benefits.
Private equity real estate is a term used in investment finance to refer to a specific subset of the real estate investment asset class. Private equity real estate refers to one of the four quadrants of the real estate capital markets, which include private equity, private debt, public equity and public debt.
A low-profit limited liability company (L3C) is a legal form of business entity in the United States. Commonly referred to as a hybrid structure, it has characteristics of both for-profit and non-profit entities. L3Cs were created to comply with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) program-related investments (PRIs) rules which allow most typically private foundations the ability to maintain tax-exempt status through investments in qualifying businesses and/or charities. With a social mission as the primary objective and a secondary objective of profit generation, the L3C legal form is considered a viable option for businesses seeking a reputation or marketability for being a social enterprise.
Small Self Administered Scheme (SSAS) is a type of UK Occupational Pension Scheme.
A Delaware statutory trust (DST) is a legally recognized trust that is set up for the purpose of business, but not necessarily in the U.S. state of Delaware. It may also be referred to as an Unincorporated Business Trust or UBO.
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