Investment clubs are about as much about learning about the ins and outs of investing as they are about delivering market profits. However, without a clear education program in place, a club can find itself dabbling in various areas without ever creating a real sense of understanding with its members.

Wanting good market profits are an easy result to understand. There is simply so much to learn about investing, from the different markets, to the regulations, to how to use NAIC's Stock Selection Guide.

To boost good market profits, when your investment club is just starting out you'll want to have educational material that is going to give all the members an overview of how investing works. As members become more experienced and knowledgeable about investing, you'll want your educational program to become more focussed.

The clubs Education officer or Vice President should determine that focus, with the input of the club members. Find out what people are interested in learning about, and where they feel they need to know more. No matter where you are in the level of education material that you're looking at you'll want to have a definite plan about what you want to learn.

Start out slow with your market profits and educational program and build up. You may want to start by learning about the different types of stock analysis, and getting a feel for how the many different tools are used. There may be times when you want to ask a guest speaker to your meetings to give you first hand experience of the investing world. This is a great way to get information that you can actively use in your own investment club. Experienced investors can give you an overview of their own investing guidelines and advice, thus by boosting market profits.

To get a better grip on how market profits are made, the club could also consider organizing a field trip to a stock exchange, or perhaps use a pop quiz to shake things up a little. As long as all the members of the club are involved, the education component of your meeting will be a vital part of the club experience.

There are a number of places on the internet where you can learn more about investing, some of which are geared specifically to investment clubs. Here are a few links to some of the sites I have found to be the most useful.

National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC)

This site has a wealth of information about investing in general and about investment clubs. It's a good site to start with.

http://www.better-investing.org/

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

This website has good basic information about investment club regulations.

Securities and Exchange Commission

Office of Investor Education and Assistance

450 Fifth Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20549-0213

http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/invclub.htm

Bivio

This is a good online source of useful information for investment clubs that can help boost market profits. Specific clubs have websites through Bivio, which often post their own education programs, and other insights they have into running an investment club.

http://www.bivio.com/index.html

The Motley Fool

This site has a wide variety of investment information, including a section on investment clubs. http://www.fool.com/InvestmentClub/InvestmentClubIntroduction.htm

Investopedia.com

Another education site covering all aspects investing.

http://www.investopedia.com/

Investment Calculators

These tools can help you calculate a variety of information that includes the future value and present value of stocks.

http://www.investopedia.com/calculator/

There are other sites available that will help you boost market profits. But, these are only a few of the many information resources available online to your investment club. They are a great way to kick start your education program, to find ideas for topics to study, and to find answers to any investing questions your club members might have.