Saratoga News

Baby boomers are flocking to popular investment clubs

Nonprofit NAIC plans workshop in Saratoga

By Jeff Kearns

The 18 members of the Women's Investment Network, a Los Gatos investment group that meets monthly to discuss its portfolio and pick stocks, all have different reasons for joining the group, but Kay Walker half-jokingly tosses out what's probably the most obvious one: "To make money!"

As the group's members sit down in one member's living room, armed with plastic cups of sparkling water and binders and folders full of spreadsheets, graphs and news clippings, they jump right into the process--doing a post-mortem on a high-tech stock the group held for a year and a half that only made the group about 85 cents, or less than a nickel per member.

"So what did we learn?" one member asks.

Carol Provenzano, the group's president, says it's an example of the Rule of Five. "In any group of stocks, there's usually one that goes way up, one that goes way down and three that perform as expected," she says.

"At least it didn't go down," another member offers.

According to the nonprofit National Association of Investors Corporation, the WIN is one of almost 200 investors groups with more than 2,500 members meeting regularly in Santa Clara County.

The group runs its meetings by parliamentary procedure, with a secretary keeping minutes, and makes all decisions on what stocks to buy and sell by majority vote.

Members say they're glad they learned how to manage their money and navigate the sometimes tricky terrain of Wall Street. Some women say it's an important skill to have as they get older, and their parents do, too. One member recounts a horror story of a financial adviser who lost two-thirds of her parents' investments over a period of more than 10 years.

WIN is made up mostly of working women in their 50s from Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell and San Jose who meet in the late afternoon one Monday each month. The group, which began about three years ago, is registered with the state as a corporation (for tax purposes) and has its own bylaws.

Margie Becker, one of the first members, says it's important for women (and men) to learn how to handle themselves financially.

"When we started, I was a complete novice. We didn't really know anything. I can't tell you how much I've learned since then," she says.

She says the group is continually researching potential companies to add to the portfolio, which currently includes about 15 stocks. The group monitors potential buys and keeps an eye on stocks it's sold. (Looking at old stocks, Becker says, "is like kissing an old boyfriend--you'll only have regrets.")

As baby boomers get closer to retirement age, and the Dow keeps spiraling up toward 10,000 points, investment groups like WIN are becoming more and more popular, especially with women. The NAIC estimates that 65 percent of its members are women.

The NAIC will be putting on a conference June 6 at the Saratoga Community Center for anyone who wants to get involved with an investment group or learn more about investing. The identical sessions meet from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Call 510/210-7430 for more information.

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