1999 Club Not Typical

Reading about the “well-heeled West Coast conclave” [“Learning by Doing,” Money Profile, Dec. 2], I could not help thinking that The Times was totally off the mark in featuring it in a story about investment clubs.

One need not be as well-connected as Nina Pircher is--”drawing on her networking and professional skills” to start a club. One has only to have the desire and to find like-minded people.

Also, a typical club does not have an address like “1999” in Century City. We meet in each others’ homes. And to think one has to cough up $6,500! Our mandatory monthly dues are $30 per person.

Most clubs do not have the luxury of a professional broker to teach, nor is it necessary. Isn’t that the reason an investment club is formed--to learn about investing? Clubs can perform perfectly well without the aid of a professional broker.

[This type of story] should inspire the average person to start an investment club. In reading about the 1999 club, one gets the wrong message.

Yes, it is true that all people--men or women--need to learn about investing. But when one has the wherewithal, as obviously these women do, it is not the same as a family that has two people working, a mortgage and lots of bills, but that still wants to know what to do with the little income left over for investing.

I can assure you most of us cannot take regular trips to New York or Europe as these ladies can. It is to us, the average Times reader, you should direct your story. I certainly was not inspired by these ladies. For a “real” working club with “real” people, we welcome you to visit our club and see how the rest of us do it.

MAE CHANDRAN

Founder & President

WISEthinkers Club

Malibu