Things might be tough at the moment when it comes to deciding whether to invest in the stock market, causing many investment clubs to simply sit tight and attempt to ride out the storm without losing too much money. But that doesn’t mean it’s all quiet on the western front.

Derek Barber, investment manager and secretary of the Failford Investment Club, explains, ‘The social side of an investment club is as important as the investing. We like to make money if we can, but it is mainly a social club.We meet once a month in the local pub, and outside of the club we are also friends and so see each other very often.’

A decade of trading
The club, based in Failford, Ayrshire, is made up of 18 members and was originally formed by Barber and a group of friends in 1998 – giving them a decade of trading in both bull and bear markets. In the past few months, however, the club has seen the flurry of market turbulence hit their portfolio hard and has taken drastic measures.

‘One of the rules that we have always had is that if any share loses more than 20 per cent then we sell it,’ says Barber. ‘However, for the past few months, as a result of the uncertainty in the markets, we haven’t changed any of our portfolio and have stopped trading.’

Despite some of the club’s investments remaining in profit, the portfolio as a whole has seen its value plummet by a third since the start of 2008. Barber says, ‘We think it is a good portfolio so we are hoping that it will come back – you’ve got to have faith. We are just sitting tight and riding it out.’

Barber, who is now retired, previously worked in the investment industry, and other members of the club also have experience of the finance sector, but they certainly don’t rely solely on this knowledge when it comes to running the club’s portfolio.

Healthy discussions
Barber explains, ‘At our monthly meetings we always look at The Share Centre’s picks and members also bring along newspaper articles that they have seen and think are interesting.We always discuss each potential stock and any buy and sell decisions, but we rarely need to vote because we normally all agree. Our main strategy is to spread risk, and the backbone of our portfolio is, and always has been, utilities.’

But he expects that this will change slightly and that the club will look more to larger companies that have a stable track record during 2009. He enthuses, ‘This year we are planning to buy into the large bluechip companies like Tesco, because we think they will be profitable.’