Investment Club Annual Report
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Investment Club Annual Report We are a relatively new club and our by-laws require an annual report. I know of several topics that should be covered but I was wondering if other clubs accomplished an annual report and what they included in the report. I would appreciate any input that other clubs might have. Thanks in advance. Bob Hello Bob, If you are just starting out and plan to be in business for awhile, I recommend that you start with a Letter to the Members. What happened in the market that year, and how did your club fare compared to the overall market (bivio's performance comparison report can provide that info)? Who were the members in your club at the beginning, and who left or joined by the end of the year? What social events did you plan? What were your goals for the year? List each individually and state whether or not you met them. What are your new goals for the coming year?
This letter will make it personal and interesting to all members. We can go back 10 years and laugh at what I wrote. It's also very beneficial because it holds all members accountable for making and reviewing goals.
A member page is also helpful with mimimal specs, such as rheir position in the club, what they do for a living, what city they live in, names of children, spouses and pets, hobbies other than stocks, and how long they've been in the club. If people leave, you can list why. I find it helpful when making out Christmas cards or planning the club picnic or simply finding out who may have an inside track on something we are studying.
Then there are the regular forms - member status report, valuation statement, income statement and balance sheet. For those who are very disciplined, you may wish to include your write up as to why you own your stocks and/or why you sold certain stocks. This can be very helpful as you mature in your investing abilities.
And don't forget a picture or a few. Especially one group shot each year. Beyond that, it's whatever you think would be memorable or helpful. Lynn Ostrem Crow River Investment Club
On Sun, Nov 6, 2011 at 12:12 PM, Robert (Bob) Hays <eaglehaven@wavecable.com> wrote: We are a relatively new club and our by-laws require an Thank you very much Lynn, that is quite helpful. You hit several that I had planned but you gave me many more ideas. Thanks again. Regards, Bob From: club_cafe@bivio.com [mailto:club_cafe@bivio.com] On Behalf Of Lynn Ostrem Hello Bob,
If you are just starting out and plan to be in business for awhile, I recommend that you start with a Letter to the Members. What happened in the market that year, and how did your club fare compared to the overall market (bivio's performance comparison report can provide that info)? Who were the members in your club at the beginning, and who left or joined by the end of the year? What social events did you plan? What were your goals for the year? List each individually and state whether or not you met them. What are your new goals for the coming year?
This letter will make it personal and interesting to all members. We can go back 10 years and laugh at what I wrote. It's also very beneficial because it holds all members accountable for making and reviewing goals.
A member page is also helpful with mimimal specs, such as rheir position in the club, what they do for a living, what city they live in, names of children, spouses and pets, hobbies other than stocks, and how long they've been in the club. If people leave, you can list why. I find it helpful when making out Christmas cards or planning the club picnic or simply finding out who may have an inside track on something we are studying.
Then there are the regular forms - member status report, valuation statement, income statement and balance sheet. For those who are very disciplined, you may wish to include your write up as to why you own your stocks and/or why you sold certain stocks. This can be very helpful as you mature in your investing abilities.
And don't forget a picture or a few. Especially one group shot each year. Beyond that, it's whatever you think would be memorable or helpful.
Lynn Ostrem Crow River Investment Club On Sun, Nov 6, 2011 at 12:12 PM, Robert (Bob) Hays <eaglehaven@wavecable.com> wrote: We are a relatively new club and our by-laws require an I think Lynn has some great and very creative ideas. Sometimes it's very motivating to look back at how far you've come as a group. Pictures are a great idea. It's easy to take them and they will be fun to look at in the future. From an accounting perspective, the only other suggestion I'd make for a club annual report is that, just like a public company annual report, that it be the time when audited financial statements are presented. Your club members should know that your club records are correct and that members other than the treasurer have shown they agree with your financial institution records. -- Laurie Frederiksen Invest with your friends! www.bivio.com Become our Facebook friend! www.facebook.com/bivio Follow us on twitter! www.twitter.com/bivio Financial audits - on that note... I failed to mention that, every year since our inception, a minimum of 3 members get together to audit the books. As treasurer, I try to do a quick accounting ahead of time to find any mistakes that can be corrected beforehand.
(I promise you this process is much more enjoyable if you balance to the penny every month with your bank and/or broker statments!) Then the 3 of us each take a piece (checkbook/bank statement against bivio) (broker statements against bivio) (deposits against member reports). We each initial off on our part. Then we run the IRS and state forms, collate them, and get them ready for delivery. After that - we pop open the vino! It's become a tradition. <G>
The fact that the books were audited, by whom, and when, is posted in the letter to the partners. No one in my club cares to have all the extra paperwork. But we do keep a file on hand, available to anyone who wants to see it. Some members do go to bivio and click through all the reports. We know this because we get questions at meetings.
Lynn Ostrem Crow River Investment Club
Be happy to clarify. The treasurer always makes up 1/3 of the 3-person auditing committee in my club. The reason? As easy as bivio club accounting can be, it's difficult for anyone not familiar with the day to day accounting activities to simply step in for an hour to audit the books. It's easier if the one person who entered everything is there to answer questions and fix any mistakes. And since that person has to be there anyway, you might as well put her to work! Besides, in my club, she brings the vino!
Again, I balance to the penny every month. I think we found a misc. expense coding error in 2007, but since then, it's all been an exercise in due diligence. I would trust any one of my members with my bank and broker passwords (as they would me - not that we would ever share them!). I could do the audits myself and no one would mind. I'm the one who keeps the audit committee coming - mainly because I like the company and commaradrie that comes with this festive act of administration.
We downsized our club in early 2009 and increased our dues. So we are a smaller, more intimate group now. Things tend to be more informal these days. Hope that helps. Lynn |
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