Your Money: Better investing for the rest of us

You don't have to be a professional to invest smartly - get informed and educate yourself. That's exactly what Rita Miller did when she joined the Philadelphia-area chapter of Better Investing, a national nonprofit club.

Better Investing chapters help retail investors study portfolios and host events to learn about picking stocks. Miller and her club members meet monthly to go over their portfolio of 11 stocks, which currently include CH Robinson Worldwide (Symbol: CHRW); automotive suppler LKQ Corp. (LKQ); railroad operator CSX Corp. (CSX); and Fastenal Co. (FAST), for which they paid $18 a share and which is trading at $49.

"That's one of our big winners," she says.

Miller, of Dresher, decided to join the chapter in 1997 after the stock market took off. She felt uncomfortable using brokers and wanted to know exactly what she was buying and selling.

What has she learned?

"Not to watch the stock market going up and down every day," she says with a laugh.

In addition, she and other club members learned to ditch losers in the portfolio because "losses really hurt you. You have to make sure your portfolio's growing, even if it's doing so slowly."

Chapter members contribute an amount each month toward the club's assets, which are used to buy stocks for the club's portfolio. The monthly amount can range from $10 to $100, at each member's discretion. Meetings consist of a club business session, an education component, and the investing activities.

Anyone may attend to observe and ask questions. There is no charge or other prerequisite.

Better Investing's next educational event in Philadelphia is scheduled for Dec. 7, with an expert on tax-efficient investing. The event will be in Willow Grove, on the second level of the community center at the Super Giant Food Store on York Road. To attend, register with Gloria Mankonen of Better Investing, 215-796-1214, or e-mail her at contact@philly.betterinvesting.net.

Joining is free, although new members are encouraged to buy a software program that teaches them financial statement analysis.

For more information visit the group's website, http://betterinvesting.org.