Investment clubs are a popular way for Americans to learn about and become involved in STOCK MARKET investing. In an investment club, members agree to contribute a set amount of MONEY each month, often $50; review and evaluate stock choices; and make INVESTMENT decisions based on member voting. Many Americans, especially before 1990, had little involvement in the stock market. Until then, stock-market investing could only be done through brokerage houses, which provided investment management and advice but also charged significant fees for purchases and sales of stock. In addition, until the 1990s, most American workers were part of defined-benefit rather than defined-contribution RETIREMENT PLANs. In a defined-benefit plan, a worker’s retirement pay is a percentage of his or her pay. In a defined-contribution plan, workers contribute a set percentage of their pay into a retirement plan, which is usually matched by their employer, but each worker determines how the funds are invested. The movement away from expensive, full-service brokers and the increase in worker-controlled retirement investment contributed significantly to the growth of investment clubs. The National Association of Investment Clubs (NAIC) was established in 1951. Interest in investment clubs grew rapidly in the 1990s, and, by 1998 there were over 36,000 NAIC clubs with 600,000 members. Membership has declined since 1998, but NAIC clubs have over $190 billion invested in the stock market. Typical NAIC investment-club membership is majority female, with an average age of 54. The NAIC’s mission is to provide a program of sound investment information, education, and support that helps create successful, lifetime investors. Its four basic investment principles are as follows. Invest regularly, regardless of the present outlook for the economy or the stock market. Reinvest all earnings, letting the power of COMPOUNDING work for you. Discover growing companies so that your WEALTH can grow as their sales and earnings grow over the years. Diversify your holdings, and don’t put all your eggs in one basket, regardless of how carefully you watch that basket. There is also a World Federation of Investors.