One of the most powerful yet difficult aspects of picking stocks as a group is being able to have a discussion and then make a decision when people may disagree.    If handled the right way,  this dissension can actually lead to better decision making because it encourages people to think about and address many different aspects of a topic.   If not handled well,  people tend to give up trying to participate.

It is important to encourage a variety of input by the members of your group and nurture an environment where different ideas are embraced and people feel comfortable speaking up and participating.   In a learning environment like a club,  it is also important to try and create an environment where everyone makes an attempt at participating.  As we all know,  you don’t really learn anything until you do the homework and try applying the knowledge yourself.

One technique I’ve been experimenting with is to offer the ability for anonymous input.  I find more people participate when they are offered this option and it brings out more variety of ideas to think about to use to make a final decision.  The discussion of the data received  focuses a little bit better on the variation in the judgments rather than the personalities or strengths and weaknesses of the group members. 

I also find I learn a lot by comparing my thoughts to others.  Since I submit them without knowing what others are going to say,   I find I put in a little more effort to try and really think through making my own decisions.

The ManifestInvesting Challenge Club is having an online “between meetings” discussion about whether or not to invest in Abbott Labs.    As part of our decision making process,  we’re asking for input on the three judgments that are made when determining a PAR or Projected Annual Return for a company.  They are, (a) its projected sales growth rate over the next 5 years, (b) it’s projected margins and (c)the projected Average P/E.  

Abbott Labs appears to be an interesting company to look at right now.  If you’d like to join in the discussion,  we’d love to have your input on the three judgment items.    You can find a place to enter your thoughts here:

Abbott Labs Group Think

Of course,  if you’d like to hear the results or join in the discussion,  make sure you let us know to add you to the Challenge Club email list or make plans to attend the May online meeting.  You can register by going to www.bivio.com/club_cafe

   Laurie Frederiksen

   www.bivio.com

One of the most powerful yet difficult aspects of picking stocks as a group is being able to have a discussion and then make a decision when people may disagree.    If handled the right way,  this dissension can actually lead to better decision making because it encourages people to think about and address many different aspects of a topic.   If not handled well,  people tend to give up trying to participate.

It is important to encourage a variety of input by the members of your group and nurture an environment where different ideas are embraced and people feel comfortable speaking up and participating.   In a learning environment like a club,  it is also important to try and create an environment where everyone makes an attempt at participating.  As we all know,  you don’t really learn anything until you do the homework and try applying the knowledge yourself.

One technique I’ve been experimenting with is to offer the ability for anonymous input.  I find more people participate when they are offered this option and it brings out more variety of ideas to think about to use to make a final decision.  The discussion of the data received  focuses a little bit better on the variation in the judgments rather than the personalities or strengths and weaknesses of the group members. 

I also find I learn a lot by comparing my thoughts to others.  Since I submit them without knowing what others are going to say,   I find I put in a little more effort to try and really think through making my own decisions.

The ManifestInvesting Challenge Club is having an online “between meetings” discussion about whether or not to invest in Abbott Labs.    As part of our decision making process,  we’re asking for input on the three judgments that are made when determining a PAR or Projected Annual Return for a company.  They are, (a) its projected sales growth rate over the next 5 years, (b) it’s projected margins and (c)the projected Average P/E.  

Abbott Labs appears to be an interesting company to look at right now.  If you’d like to join in the discussion,  we’d love to have your input on the three judgment items.    You can find a place to enter your thoughts here:

Abbott Labs Group Think

Of course,  if you’d like to hear the results or join in the discussion,  make sure you let us know to add you to the Challenge Club email list or make plans to attend the May online meeting.  You can register by going to www.bivio.com/club_cafe

   Laurie Frederiksen

   www.bivio.com

This is an interesting thing to think about. 

I think it is the case in a lot of clubs that a few people do the majority of the “work”.  Is this bad?  Obviously there is something positive going on in your club that  has kept it together for 50 years.    

A sociologist named Brooke Harrington did a study of investment clubs that she reports on in an interesting book called Pop Finance.  Her study showed that a club’s investing success was not necessarily a primary contributor to a club’s longevity.  She discusses other benefits that people derive from the time they spend participating in the club.   For example,  for many people it is a way for them to get/stay connected with the world of finance and business.   Clubs certainly have a social benefit for many of us.    It is fun to share a hobby you have an interest in with others that have the same interest.  I think things like this add value to your life and are certainly part of the overall rewards you earn by spending time participating in a club.

Having said that,  I do think it is fun to talk about how well you are doing and to have a common goal to work toward.  Many times it is the identification of a specific goal that is what is needed to focus the efforts.

In my experience,  I think we sometimes almost avoid talking about “How well our investments are doing” because we’re afraid  it may be more difficult than we think to achieve success.  I think this is the case in my own club.   We’re good friends, we have a great time at our club meetings every month and we all feel like we’re learning about investing.   We actually have learned a lot,  I’ve been looking a lot at our relative returns lately and the results are encouraging.   Reporting on this hasn’t been a regular part of our club meetings in the past but I’m going to start  doing a little more on tracking and reporting on our relative return each month.   I’m thinking it will be interesting  just to increase awareness of it and thinking about it as we are making investment decisions.  It certainly doesn’t hurt to introduce a new idea in a non threatening manner.   One reason I really enjoy the people in my club is that they are as interested in learning new things as I am.

         Laurie Frederiksen