One obvious move is to increase their circle of competence which means they harness the experience of friends and acquaintances who

One obvious move is to increase their “circle of competence”, which means they harness the experience of friends and acquaintances who have a mutual interest in making profits from investing in shares. Individually, the members have a wide diversity of practical knowledge about their work, their interests, and life. Collectively, the club has a formidable pool of data and informed opinion.The clubs come in all shapes and sizes but the principles are about the same. There can be as few as five or as many as 20 members and each month they each put an easily manageable amount – typically £50 – into the pot to buy shares. The club meets monthly in a member’s home, or the private room of a pub or club, and discusses potential investments.At the outset, they establish an overall investment approach and decide the criteria shares must meet before a purchase (this cuts out the temptation to follow silver-tongued members who may persuade the club to purchase penny shares). Soon the club has a well-balanced portfolio with a firm stop-loss policy and club “champions” to watch individual shares.I belong to three investment clubs and I know my involvement makes me a better investor. Each month I hear well-researched investment ideas from people who are experienced in particular market sectors and whose opinions I respect.

I apply this information to my private portfolio although I do not always follow the decisions made by the clubs.Investment clubs are what the members make them and most are great fun as well as being a good way to learn and earn. The bad news is that it is not easy to join an existing club because we’re British and therefore wary of sharing such an emotive matter as deciding a share investment with strangers Most clubs are set up by friends and friends of friends. But establishing your own club is simple.You need to identify only two or three people who you think might like the idea. Chat it through with them, ask each to come up with a couple of their friends who might like to join, and I guarantee the concept will be so popular you will soon have an embarrassment of wannabe members.If you are interested in starting an investment club you need the ProShare Manual, which gives chapter and verse on how to establish a club and make sure it runs properly. Normally, the Manual sells at £29.50 but if you ring 020 7394 5200 and quote The Independent special offer you can buy it with your credit card for £25, postage and packing free.And, just a word of warning: there are some organisations trying to jump on the investment club bandwagon by charging several hundred pounds to attend “how-to-start-a-club” seminars. They are easily identified because they instruct their clubs to invest only in American stocks.

That seems to me unfairly restrictive for UK-based clubs.I suggest if you want to attend seminars on how to start a club you attend one of ProShare’s. They have three, in Wolverhampton, Chester and London before Christmas and a dozen regional sessions planned for next year. They cost a tenner and you can get details of venues and dates by ringing 0207 220 1730 or looking on the proshare website.Finally, to those of you who are undecided about how to tackle today’s uncertain markets, my advice coincides with that of Corporal Jones Don’t panic. Avoid the temptation to run scared, particularly if you have chosen the shares in your portfolio carefully and nothing has happened within the companies to make you doubt your decisions. At a time when prices are going down it is easy to forget that one fact is immutable; in the long term, the stockmarket as a whole moves inexorably upwards.terry.bond hemscott . The hundreds of savings accounts in mutual and demutualised building societies and the postal, telephonic and internet ones have become a maze. Moneynetsavingssearch The hundreds of savings accounts in mutual and demutualised building societies and the postal, telephonic and internet ones have become a maze.

The permutations are confusing enough even on products in high street branches, including current accounts and those at varying terms of notice. Most of them are tiered according to the prevailing balance, and some offer monthly interest as an alternative to yearly.
Portman recently issued a leaflet spelling out nine changes of terms and conditions during 2000. It listed 21 available accounts and 84 closed ones with fancy names ranging from Additional Interest to Young Generation. The rates are based on up to seven tiers, from below £3,000 to £5,000 and more.Even here, it is almost impossible to compare like with like. Abbey National’s thresholds for higher interest are £2,500, £5,000 and £10,000, and Nationwide has six bands, starting at £500.