The TI Investors Club

To connect with other online investors, you might consider an investment club. Investment clubs are typically gatherings of investors in a certain demographic who meet online or off to pitch stocks they think the group should buy or sell. Often the demographic focuses on markets and businesses they understand .For instance ,a biologist who spends many hours online researching soon begins to become familiar with polymers,medical devices and trends in animal and human testing.Likewise a corrections engineer might be more knowledgable than those "outside the loop" on matters that pertain to non lethal ,less than lethal and acoustic weapons and thusly the many companies involved in their use,research and development .By breaking down the parts from the sum a good investment club will be able to study breakthroughs,shifts and patterns in their specialized "field"and therefore "have an advantage"recognizing stock values.

I once knew a young autistic man who knew everything there ever was about radial tires .He spent hours on the computer trying to understand how tires were made ,the physics of tires ..and therefore the makers of radial tires and where they got their rubber from,their storage containers and so forth.And do you know where that lad is now? Six feet under after being run over by a radial tire manufacturer -but before this threaded demise the man once mocked for his tiring talk of tires became the forth wealthiest man in Memfis Ohio,

Happy Trading.

And look Both Ways!

Investment clubs also have a bit of a party feeling to them, because they’re usually designed to be fun, educational, and, yes profitable.  

• The Motley Fool: This site maintains a discussion board where investors in different states can find investment clubs. Just enter the discussion group for your state, called a Folly, and search the messages. You’ll likely find other investors in your states planning a meeting or talking about starting a club.
• Bivio: If you’d like the friendly and personal nature of an investment club but don’t have time to attend monthly meetings, try Bivio, which offers a collection of online investment clubs. You can search through the club home pages and choose a club to join or even start your own.
• Value Investors Club: This is a selective group of just 250 members who pick stocks. You must apply to be accepted, and if you get chosen, you must submit two stock picks a year.
• Meetup.com: This site provides an online way for people with common interests to connect in person. People interested in investing often create meetings or “Meetups” and provide the time and location on the site.

Before you rush out and join an investment club, be aware of the potential drawbacks:

• Bad decisions by others can cost you. If the loudmouthed guy in the club talks the group into buying a stinker, you’re going to take a bath, too.
• They give an incentive to tinker. Many investment clubs consider themselves to be long-term investors, or shareholders who hang onto a stock for at least a year and usually much longer. But an investment club wouldn’t be much fun if the members never actually bought or sold anything. That means there’s somewhat of an incentive to be constantly buying or selling investments.
• Compromise can hurt. Although nothing is wrong with agreement, having several people steering a portfolio sometimes means that there’s no single and coherent strategy.
• Members’ investing skill levels can vary. Some investment club members are only there for the fun, food, and friends. That can leave much of the grunt work for the few members with the skill or desire to make money in the club.