CHICAGOLAND CHAPTER NEWSLETTER Serving Chicago and North/South Suburban Counties & Beyond

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1 VOL. 1 / NO. 2 Fall / Winter 2011 CHICAGOLAND CHAPTER NEWSLETTER Serving Chicago and North/South Suburban Counties & Beyond PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Greetings and happy holidays from the Chicagoland Board of Directors. As we near the end of 2011, I am happy to report that our chapter has made great progress in merging the prior Greater North Suburban and Chicago South chapters. Our accomplishments include: Rolling out the BetterInvesting chapter website. This website will be your source for the latest information on chapter news, events, tips, articles and other resources. Our goal is to keep the website fresh and informative. We hope you will take the time to visit the site at Expanding our reach by including geographic territories that previously did not receive chapter support. We welcome additional members from McHenry County in the north and Will/Kankakee counties from the south. Our BetterInvesting list now provides us with the members from these regions and we look forward to visiting with our expanded membership. We have highlighted our entire Chicagoland chapter territory on page three of this newsletter we hope you will take a look. Completing all administrative tasks for the new chapter. We have successfully combined the treasuries of the prior chapters. All accounts have been opened and our financial condition is in great shape. Our Bylaws have been formed and chapter directors are eager to carry out their responsibilities. Most importantly, we have created committees to develop programs, initiate classes and spread the word about our activities. What s next? We are rolling out our educational program. This program includes classes, outside speakers, webcasts, portfolio reviews, a model club and training our members on the best in investment education. In addition, we are actively working with the Chicago West Chapter to plan the next local Chicago Investor Expo. Sound interesting? Turn the pages of this newsletter to learn more. IN THIS ISSUE: President s Message Education Program... 2 Chapter Demographics Chicago Investor Expo... 4 Club Portfolio Reviews... 4 Volunteering... 4 Chicagoland Director Listing... 5 Howard C. Mack President, Chicagoland Chapter

2 2012 UPCOMING INVESTMENT EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Everyone likes presents; the best gift you can give yourself is a good education. Astronaut Space Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly (September tour of the UK) With the ever changing financial markets, investment education is more important than ever. We are expanding our educational offerings to accommodate busy schedules and different styles of learning to include both in-person and online opportunities. Members will be notified of our classes electronically. Programs will also address the various levels of learning beginner to advanced member. IN-PERSON OPPORTUNITIES We have lined up two great locations for our inperson classes. Roosevelt University Schaumburg Campus to the north (1400 N. Roosevelt Blvd) and Saint Xavier University Orland Park Campus to the south (18230 Orland Parkway). Both campuses are conveniently located close to local expressways and can accommodate a range of technological needs and class sizes. WEBINARS Online education in another convenient option we are adding to our 2012 education calendar. These online classes will run similar to the national webinars offered by the BetterInvesting home office. We highly recommend the use of a USB headset connected to your computer for the best audio quality. PLANNED TOPICS Reading and Understanding Annual Reports The Benefits of your BetterInvesting Membership and Chapter Resources Tricks of the Trade: Outsmarting Investment Fraud Understanding the Online Stock Study Guide Treasurers Corner and Club Accounting Dividends for Life Group Portfolio Reviews SAVE THESE DATES (Tentative 2012 Schedule) January 14 April 14 August 11 October 26-27* February 11 June 9 September 8 December 8 March 10 July 14 *2012 Chicago Investor Expo Should you have questions about classes, teachers, or want to see chapter-wide classes on a particular subject, please do not hesitate to contact us via the chapter hotline number (847)

3 The Chicagoland Chapter 1,600+ Members Strong We thought our readers would be interested to know the who, what and where of the Chicagoland Chapter. First, the map to the right provides an overview of how large an area our chapter covers. We are delighted to report that the Chicagoland chapter has 1,647 members; 79.8% represent members in investment clubs, 13.5% represent individual investors and more than 3.5% represent lifetime BetterInvesting members. The data provided by the home office allows us to slice the data by location. We are wellrepresented in both the Chicago city limits and surrounding suburbs. Listed below are the top 10 Chicago and suburban locations of our members. Chicagoland Chapter Member Types Club Memberships 1, % Individual Memberships % Lifetime Memberships % Subscribers % Total 1, % Chicago Locations by Zipcode Suburban Locations by City Zipcode # of Members % of Total Membership City # of Members % of Total Membership % Northbrook % % Park Ridge % % Mt. Prospect % % Winnetka % % Flossmoor % % Hawthorn Woods/ Kildeer % % Glenview % % Bourbonnais % % Gurnee % % Evanston % Note: Data gathered as of August 2011 by BetterInvesting

4 SAVE THE DATE DATE SET FOR 2012 CHICAGO INVESTOR EXPO Plans are underway for the 2012 Chicago Investor Expo (the Expo). Due to the success of the 2010 Expo, we are expanding the Expo to a 1-1/2 day event. Mark your calendars now for Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27, 2012 to attend this exciting event right here in our own backyard. This Expo is again sponsored by the Chicagoland and Chicago West chapters of BetterInvesting (BI). We will return to the beautiful Renaissance Hotel O Hare located at 8500 West Bryn Mawr Avenue in Chicago. The Expo will have all of the great features of our prior event including educational classes taught by BetterInvesting National Volunteer Board members, company presentations by outstanding growth companies, and an exhibit hall featuring investor relations representatives to talk about their companies and answer your questions. We are also planning for a Friday evening keynote speaker to kick off the event. Further details will be forthcoming in the spring. In the meantime, please turn to our event website for updated information at HAVE YOUR CLUB S PORTFOLIO REVIEWED Ever wonder how well your club s portfolio is doing? Portfolio evaluations are performed by Chicagoland chapter directors who analyze your club s portfolio and review the results at your club meeting. The analysis is provided using BetterInvesting tools, outside software and director expertise to evaluate your portfolio. We will assist in determining if your portfolio is meeting your club s goals. This is an educational tool offered free of charge to your club. Take advantage of this service for your club. Call our chapter hotline at (847) to arrange a club visit. Want to join the BetterInvesting volunteer nation? The Chicagoland chapter is always looking for energetic people who are willing to work in a team, pitch in and have fun in the process. Not only will you share time with like-minded people but you will also learn a tremendous amount about investing and BetterInvesting methods. Are you interested in hearing more? Call our chapter hotline at (847)

5 Chicagoland Directors and Associate Directors Directors Committees Bill Barnes Wilma Rice Back-Office Administration Audie Brewton Ella Russell Events Sheryl Carter Quentin Sampson Programs Audrey DeMuth Deb Severen Publicity Perry Doubt Sharon Snell Ray Giese Sue Spurlin Gloria Gooden Shirley Truss Frank Gray Donna Wacyk Earlene Harris Dawn Williams Howard Mack Valerie Woodfork Judy Moran Rosemary Wyche Russ Peters Vicki Zickenheiner Jerome Randall Jr. Important Notice to our Readers BetterInvesting is a non-profit educational organization that sponsors programs and provides information through their local volunteer chapters for the education and use of individual investors and investment club members. BetterInvesting neither recommends nor endorses specific securities