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By Dawn Hodson
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Are you a woman wanting to learn more about how to buy and sell stocks?

Then the Golden Hills Investment Club may be the ticket as they are in the market for new members.

In operation in El Dorado County since 1989, the group is loosely affiliated with the National Association of Investment Clubs, known officially as the National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC)/BetterInvesting.

Marie Reale, one of the founding members of the group, said its purpose is to gather information and educate people about the stock market so they can invest wisely as a group and as individuals.

Reale said the club follows the philosophy of NAIC which means thoroughly researching stocks before buying and then holding them for the long-term rather than speculating.

An extensive amount of training is provided to all members so they learn what to look for in a stock by understanding the company’s financial statement, cash flow, balance statement, past history of earnings per share, and PE ratio (price to earning ratio). Members are also encouraged to listen to Webinars put on by companies and to talk to analysts from large brokerage firms before purchasing a stock.

“We teach people how to gather as much information as possible about a company before investing,” she noted. “There is a fair amount of work people have to do on their own as well as part of the club.”

That training prepares members to make stock purchases as a club in addition to individual purchases. As a club, the members pool a certain amount of money each month, analyze stocks at the meeting and present information on the stocks they have researched. They then vote on what stocks they want to buy.

Reale said they have an online broker who purchases the stocks for them.

“Everyone has their own capital account which keeps them up to date on what their shares are worth. It’s based on people’s investment and the value of their portfolio,” she said.

She cautioned that the club does not invest enough to help people with their personal retirement but rather it teaches them how to build their own personal portfolio.

Reale said any woman is welcomed to join. Generally when someone comes to the first meeting they are informed as to what is expected of them as members.

The person then attends three meetings to understand how the club operates and then a vote is taken to accept them into the group. Reale said she can’t remember the last time someone wasn’t accepted into the group.

“But we also have fun. It’s not all work,” she laughed.

For those interested in learning more about the club, it meets the third Wednesday of every month from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Raley’s Event Center which is a meeting room in Raley’s supermarket at 166 Placerville Drive in Placerville.

For additional information contact Reale at 916-933-0244.

Contact Dawn Hodson at 530-344-5071 or dhodson@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @DHodsonMtDemo on Twitter.