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Checking accounts for investment clubs
The Riverside Investment Club asks...................
 
We have an established investment club that has been in operation for about 4 months now.  Because of some difficulties with finding a reasonable cost checking account, we arrived at the solution of opening two E-Trade accounts, using one for direct deposits and writing checks, and one for the investments.  We then transfer the money deposited into the "checking" account from there to the "investment" account on a monthly basis.

Now we are wondering if we even need the second "checking" account.  We hope we will not need to write that many checks.  At this point there are nine members of the club, each with equal ownership percentages.  We are wondering if having just one account where all deposits are made will cause us accounting problems, both now and if we admit new members which will then cause ownership percentages for all members to not be equal.  We use Bivio now for account valuation.

 
Yes, it can be difficult to find a checking account with reasonable fees for an investment club. That is why many clubs are turning to brokerage firms with check writing privileges, just as you have.
 
I see no need to maintain two checking accounts. Evidently you are doing this in an attempt to keep the investment function separate from the expense function. There is no need to do this. With the bivio accounting system, you get a complete analysis of both investment and expense transactions without separating the functions into two separate accounts. Not only will it not cause you any accounting problems, It should make it easier to keep track of your transactions. Admitting new members will cause no problems.
 
Thank you for your inquiry and for using bivio. If I have not completely answered your question, please come back.
 
 
Rip West
Saint Paul, MN
trez_talk@bivio.com