For these reasons, investment clubs are hot right now. They have more than doubled nationwide the last two years, according to Bob O'Hara, vice president of development for the National Association of Investors Corp., a non-profit resource group based in Michigan. From 1995 to 1997, NAIC-affiliated investment clubs grew from 14,500 to 31,100, and include 580,000 members. Florida has 1,385 clubs with 15,829 members and 3,793 NAIC members who don't belong to clubs. Manatee County boasts 19 clubs with 211 members and 49 independent NAIC members.
Newcomers are younger than ever.
O'Hara expects the age to drop further as teen-agers become targeted for youth investment programs. Publishers have expressed interest in revising NAIC's educational materials for high schoolers, he said. Like the laws of attraction, people within the same occupations, neighborhoods or circles of friends are forming investment clubs. Some are exclusively female or male. Age seems to hold less relevance, as members within the same groups can be 60 years apart.