Point Reyes Light - December 28, 2000

Distaff investment club scores with socially responsible stocks

By Larken Bradley

Members of the West Marin Women’s Investment Club at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8, in the Point Reyes Station library, will offer instruction on how to use the Value Line Investment Survey.

Stockbroker and club member Marla Malaspina will lead the presentation. Value Line, which the library has started subscribing to, is a beefy quarterly publication that provides information on 3,500 publicly traded stocks. It serves as a major resource for individual investors and investment clubs across the country

Started in 1996, the West Marin Women’s Investment Club allows no more than 20 members, who invest $35 a month each in a diverse range of equities. The club’s portfolio – 40 percent of which is devoted to Internet hardware-maker Cisco Systems – has posted a 125 percent total return since the group’s inception.

Waiting list for club

Originally modeled after the much-publicized (and later discredited) Beardstown Ladies Investment Club in Illinois, and using the guidelines of the National Association of Investment Clubs, the group aspires to learn about investing, to make money, and to have fun. The club also strives to make socially responsible investments.

Member Cynthia Clark Mitchell said that many of the women joined the club knowing little about investing, but over time they’ve gained confidence. Fifteen of the original 18 members remain. Admission to the group is by referral, and the club currently has a waiting list.

Stocks are chosen by consensus. Members divide into groups of three or four women that investigate a sector or industry and make a presentation with their recommendations at monthly meetings. Investments are conservative and are kept for the long haul.

The club’s biggest success has been SEI Investment Co., a provider of financial management services for big business. The biggest disappointment was been medical-supply company Respironics, which the club dumped after two years of poor performance.

What advice does the club have for the rest of us? "Diversify," said member Elisabeth Ptak of Inverness.

Building friendships too

In general, group investing is a comfortable way for women – and men – to learn about the stock market. Individual stakes are usually low, which means it’s less nerve-wracking when a stock takes a dip. Group decision-making also invites its share of friendly disagreement since individuals respond differently to changing circumstances, Mitchell noted.

Club member Rebecca Porrata of Inverness said that several women in the group take what they learn from the group to make individual investments. While the group is focused on investing and is not meant to be a social club, the relationships that grow out of it are a bonus.

"It’s a way for me to build my friendships with these women," Porrata said.

Thanks to the Internet, investing in the market is now available to almost everyone. Investing "crosses lots of income lines," noted Point Reyes Station librarian Lynn Murray, who expects patrons from all over West Marin to use the new Value Line subscription.

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