We've enhanced the investment club performance report.

Measuring your investment club's portfolio performance is a complicated task, one that is best served by computerized calculations. The myICLUB.com Club Performance & Benchmark Report calculates the average annual compounded rate of return for your club's portfolio using all of the cash flows in and out of the club as well as all of the buys, sells, income, and expenses. By replicating those cash flows as investments in and out of a single index fund or index ETF, the club can compare its performance over time to the broader market as represented by that index. Once all the calculations are complete, it is possible to answer the basic question, "Is this portfolio performing better or worse than the market?"

The myICLUB.com Club Performance & Benchmark Report enables clubs to compare their performance to the S&P 500 (as represented by a S&P 500 index fund) as well as to a pre-selected list of other common bond and stock market indexes. Now we've added the ability to benchmark your club's performance to any security, including index funds and index ETFs as well as other stocks. Any security can be selected as long as it is in our database of North American securities. The chosen ticker symbol must also have enough history to make for a valid comparison to the club's results, so the security must have history dating back at least as far as the club's starting date in myICLUB.com. Note that return calculations for custom tickers do not include the impact of distributions paid (if any).

Also, we have clarified the circumstances under which the myICLUB.com Club Performance & Benchmark Report is unable to calculate valid rates of return. This report uses the club's historical securities valuations to calculate the change in value over time. For any periods in which a club does not have official securities valuations in their database, compound annual return is not able to be calculated. For clubs following our investment club best practices, this will not be a problem as they will have an official monthly valuation created and saved; this monthly valuation determines the unit value that is used for all transactions in that period.

Finally, we have cleaned up the colors and formatting of the Club Performance & Benchmark Report to make it clearer to interpret and easier to print or save as a color PDF.

Be sure to review all of the help text available on the report (including the footnote, "What's this?" popup, and the help page) to make sure that you and your club members understand the report and how it should be interpreted. Over time, careful attention paid to the club's performance can ensure that your investment club will stand the test of time.

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For more on ICLUBcentral's tools for investment club accounting, operations, and tax preparation, please visit https://www.myICLUB.com.