No Tea--or Sympathy --for Investment Clubs

I read with great interest Kathy M. Kristof’s “Tea and S&P--The; Club Approach to Buying Stocks” (Personal Finance, June 30). Two years ago, I investigated a West Los Angeles investment club consisting of five members. The club had been in existence less than five years and had purchased about five blue-chip stocks.

I never joined this club because I discovered that if I signed their contract to join and contribute money, it would be like putting my money into a black hole. I would never see my money again even though, perhaps in their records, I had made a profit. They had no intention of ever selling the stocks they owned. I would be committed to be in the club a specific time with a promise to contribute money monthly. I could not gain access to my money should I need it.

The five or so stocks they owned were not what I considered “growth” stocks. Their price span was not spectacular, and I sold one of those stocks after it failed to gain much in a year. By buying stocks on my own I have fared much better. I own about 15 stocks and have not owned these stocks more than 30 months and have a 38% gain, not including the dividends they pay. No investment clubs come close to this.

CAROLE KRETSCHMAR

Pacific Palisades