Investment clubs are about fun, profit.

By John Harrington, Independent Record, Helena, Mont. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 27--They do it for fun. They do it for friendship, and they do it to learn about investing. And yes, the members of several investment clubs in the Helena area take part in the clubs in hopes of making a little money.

Investment clubs, where groups of people get together, all kick in some money and buy some stocks, have been around for decades. Their profile was raised in the 1990s, when the long bull run on Wall Street spurred many casual or first-time investors to want to learn more about the markets.

Investment clubs typically have rules for joining in and pulling put, a set monthly contribution and bylaws detemining how many members are needed to hold a meeting or to vote to buy or sell. Most clubs are organized as partnerships, which means that if the club enjoys capital gains in a given year, the gains are passed through to the individual members, who then owe the …