Guest Author - Brandi Rhoades

As women gain entry to more powerful careers and earn more money, they are turning more toward investing to create more wealth. Statistics suggest women are less likely to invest in riskier ventures, such as the stock market, than men. One way many women are getting around this fear is by joining investment clubs.

Women’s investment clubs are gaining popularity as women learn to depend on other women for information about investing. Starting an investment club versus investing on your own has a number of benefits.

You will be pooling money with other people to help the club buy more. Seeing this benefit is easiest when considering real estate investment groups. The group will agree to purchase a property, and each member will contribute a portion of the money to cover the monthly mortgage. Having 10 people participating gives each member much less required monthly payment than investing in real estate on one’s own.

Being part of a club takes the onus off one person knowing everything about investing. Each member can be responsible for a specific topic and can share research with other members. This type of sharing alleviates the common concern that investing is an overly complicated task.

Another benefit of starting an investment club is each member can make suggestions. Women often put their money into less risky, but less lucrative, places because they are unsure of their decision. Choosing the wrong stock, for example, could mean a significant loss. Having other women available to share their thoughts on stocks makes the decision-making process a bit less intimidating.

Women in investment clubs can share their trials and triumphs together. Investing still seems to be a “man’s world,” in which emotion is not as important as stoicism whether one is winning or losing millions. Investment clubs take this seriousness away and give women the chance to share together.

Members of investment clubs can build on each other’s knowledge. One member may be a barista and have detailed information about coffee shops and thus be able to provide better advice on certain coffee brand stocks. Each person may have only a slice of knowledge, but joined together the whole group can profit.

Many women choose to join an investment club specifically for women, though certainly male-female groups exist. Some of these groups, such as the Beardstown Ladies, have made their investment club information public, giving other women advice on how to start the club, making investment club rules, and sharing their success. These women and their clubs serve as the foundational blocks of a generation of women investors.