Most Frequently Asked

And the Answer Is…

Since the book came out, we've been asked a lot of questions: how we got started, why we started, what's it all about Alfie, and how are we doing now. I thought I'd pull together some of the most frequently asked Chick questions and put them up on the website today... thinking that you might be asking yourself the same questions.

How did all of you meet each other, and why did you choose to meet online?

Our main connection was Chick Karin. Two of the Chicks are in her family: her sister, Chick Jana in Atlanta, and her mother, Chick Jeanette in Phoenix. Jana and Jeanette each invited a friend to join, Chick Kristin (also in Atlanta), and Chick Julie in Minneapolis. Chick Karin met Chick Megan when their husbands played hockey for the Washington Capitals. Lorene still lives in Annapolis, Maryland, and Chick Megan lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. When Karin lived in St. Louis she became good friends with Chick Susie, who still lives there. Karin met Chick Cheryl at a nightclub in Buffalo, New York when Cheryl was an actress on General Hospital. Cheryl was in town for a charity golf tournament which Karin's husband was also playing in. Cheryl lives in Los Angeles. Chick Lynn is Karin's neighbor in St. Paul, Minnesota. Being scattered across the U.S. and Canada, we go online because it was the only way we could do it!

What exactly is the book about and why did your club feel the need to get your Chick word out there?

The reason we really wanted to write a book about starting an investment club was that there wasn’t anything out there that was very appealing. We like fun and understandable…not jargon over our heads or a sleepy investment book. We wanted a book that was informative and entertaining. So we wrote the book we wished we had when we were starting. The book is based on how our investment club began and what we’ve learned (mistakes and all). It teaches other clubs how to get started, how to adopt a long-term investment philosophy, how to get online (from buying a computer to getting an internet service provider), and where to go once you get to the Internet. The book teaches women (and men, if they are daring enough) what the stock market is, what it means to buy a stock, how to find good companies to invest in, how to get your club online, and how to use the Internet as your greatest resource. It’s easy to understand for the beginning investor, or anyone just wanting to learn about the stock market. It’s also about life. We splash real life in between the chapters (and a little gossip, too).

How exactly does your club operate online and does a club have to go online?

Since the girls in our club live all over, we have to do everything online, but we do meet face to face twice a year, for fun. We do all of our stock research online, from getting a company’s balance sheet and income statement, to reading the latest news releases about the company we are researching. Then, after we’ve gathered our information, we summarize it and post it to our club’s message board at our website. Each club member is able to access the board at any time day or night to read the information. It makes the club run very efficiently and accommodates our varied schedules. There are many clubs whose members live in the same city, but still use their message board to report on their companies. It saves them time at their face-to-face meeting if everyone has already read the research and comes armed with information. The Chicks meetings are also held online. Everyone gets on their computer from their own home (or office) and the meeting takes less than half the time it would take to have the meeting face to face. A club doesn’t have to get online... but it would be silly not to as it’s the biggest time saver. 

Why did your club decide to start a website to go along with the book?

We just didn't feel entirely comfortable with so many of the websites that we went to. They either were catering to men, financial wizards or, if it was geared to women, there was so much other stuff on the website it was hard to get to the financial information. Chickslayingnesteggs.com is a site geared for investment clubs with a female touch. It’s the place you can go after you read the book for internet tools and more investment chatter. Each club at chickslayingnesteggs.com has access to their own private chat room so they can hold their meetings online. They can also keep their minutes on our site, their operating procedures, and their investment portfolio. You are able to get company research right at the website and even read a new three-minute article everyday. The articles in the Chicks Eye View are investment related yet entertaining... and who has more than three minutes a day to read anything these days?

How much time do you and the other club members spend each month researching companies?

The average club member needs to spend only twenty minutes a month. That’s it... everything you need to know can get done in twenty minutes. Granted, the “getting the club up and running” takes a little bit longer, and learning how to do a company's numbers takes some getting used to, but once you’ve got the system down, twenty minutes a month is plenty.

Your investment philosophy is pretty basic, sticking mostly to products that you know and use. Why did you choose this kind of philosophy instead of one that includes price to earnings ratios, chart curves or technical analysis?

None of us really wanted to learn anything more complicated than fifth-grade math, nor did we want to be so wrapped up in the stock market that we forget to have a life. We liked our lives the way they were, so if we were to add anything it had to be simple. But, that being said, some of the greatest investors in the history of the market, the Warren Buffetts and the Peter Lynches, have very simple basic philosophies. They don’t bother with the technical analysis either. It doesn’t make sense for anyone to buy a stock that they don’t understand. If you don’t understand it, know it, and use it, how can you possibly speculate its future growth?

How has your portfolio done in this slumping market?

It’s slumped. Although, everything in the whole market has dropped their pants. It’s interesting that everyone really wants to dwell on the short-term slump, and it’s understandable... but that is not what we are about. We are long-term investors. If you took a snippet of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, he, too, has had some not so stellar years, but over the long term, he has returned an average of 25%. But when Warren’s portfolio is down, the media pounces on him saying, “he’s getting too old" or "he needs to add more tech to his portfolio.” We believe long-term is the only way to invest in the market. We really do believe in our companies and have faith that in the long haul, they will beat the market.

What can other women learn from the Chicks' book, the website, and you?

We are trying to teach women that the stock market isn’t just for men, and that it isn’t as hard as people try to make it look. It’s fun, it’s a learning experience, and it broadens your mind. There is something empowering about being able to chime in at a dinner conversation about Krispy Kreme and their IPO. Or Philip Morris and their earnings. To Chicks, it’s not all about getting rich in the stock market; it’s about knowing what’s going on, understanding, and then making rational choices about what to do with your money. We view the current market slump as a sale -- there’s no better time to buy! Chicks love sales, but you have to learn what the best buys are first. Once you’ve read the book and started your club, the only way for the market to go is up! I only wish I had MORE money to invest in the market right now! The greatest wealth in the market has come to the people who have been smart enough to buy stock in good strong companies when they are on sale. You will learn how to find them from the book.

What advice could you give people wanting to start an investment club?