Rules of the Medway MoneyPit Club
1. THE AFFAIRS OF THE CLUB
The affairs of the club shall be conducted in accordance with the letter and spirit of the constitution laid down by members. The constitution cannot be altered without the agreement of 75% of the members present at a properly constituted meeting subject to the quorum requirement of Rule 3 b) being met.
2. OFFICERS
a) The affairs of the Club shall be managed by three Officers - Chairperson, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer - who shall be elected by a simple majority of members attending the Annual General Meeting of the club. These officers shall resign at the following Annual General Meeting, but shall be eligible for re-election. If an officer should leave the club, die or otherwise be unable to continue to carry out his/her duties, a replacement may be elected at a subsequent Ordinary Meeting of Members. Other officers may be elected from time to time to assist the three main officers.
b) In addition to the 3 officers, there will be a Club Executioner, who will also resign his position at the following Annual General Meeting but shall be eligible for re-election. The Club Executioner is not an executive officer of the club.
3. MEETINGS
a) In each year there shall be held eleven monthly meetings and one Annual General Meeting, at which all members shall be entitled to be present and to vote on all matters. Sleeping (contributory but non-attending) members are permitted subject to the majority agreement of the Club; such members are excluded from the quorum requirement of Rule 3 b) unless attending a meeting where they will be entitled to vote on all matters. If a member does not attend 3 consecutive meetings or separately advises that they wish to be treated as a sleeping member then they will be deemed to be a sleeping member.
b) Dates and venues of meetings may be varied in accordance with a resolution supported by a simple majority of those attending a properly constituted meeting of the club. Such resolutions and all others must be carried at a meeting where there is a quorum comprising of more than half of the current membership and at a Special General Meeting or an Annual General Meeting, three quarters of the current membership shall constitute a quorum.
c) All members shall be given at least 5 days notice of dates and venues of meetings.
d) A Special General Meeting may be convened by not less than three members for the purposes of resolving special items of club business subject to a written request being submitted to the Secretary who will without undue delay then give at least 21 days notice to all members.
e) When necessary, due either to market conditions or on receipt of information which requires urgent attention, members can be notified by electronic means between meetings via the Club's Yahoo Groups e-mail. The process shall comprise a Nomination from one member (e.g. to sell a particular share), a Second to support that nomination from another member and then a vote by email. Members are allowed up to 48 hours to vote and, once a simple majority of members vote in favour, subject to the quorum requirement of Rule 3 b) being met, the vote will be carried.
4. MEMBERSHIP
In accordance with the constitution the membership of the club shall not exceed 20 persons at any time.
5. ELECTION OF NEW MEMBERS
a) The election of a new member is conditional upon there being no objection from a member at the meeting at which the application is considered.
b) A prospective member must be proposed and seconded by two existing members at a monthly meeting of the club. Subject to acceptance by all members attending that meeting the name and address of the prospective member will be circulated to all members prior to the next monthly meeting.
c) The club reserves the right to refuse admission to any person without giving a reason.
d) On admission to the club, a new member will sign an agreement accepting all responsibilities associated with membership. The new member shall pay the initial lump-sum subscription and the first month's subscription. These sums will purchase for the new member a number of units calculated according to club rules and the unit value prevailing at the time of joining.
6. WITHDRAWAL OF MEMBERSHIP
a) A member shall cease to be a member of the club if he/she is in contravention of Clause 15 of the constitution.
b) If a member should die or cease to be a member for any reason, the club shall pay to the member or to persons entitled by law an amount equal to the former member's share in the assets of the club as defined in Rule 11.
7. Initial Lump-Sum Subscription
All members will pay an initial lump-sum of £100 which may rise in multiples of £100 to a maximum of £500 which will rank on par with monthly subscriptions in that it will purchase for that member an appropriate number of units according to the unit value at the time of joining.
8. SUBSCRIPTIONS
a) A subscription of a minimum of £25 per calendar month which may rise in multiples of £1 to a maximum allowed by current legislation per calendar month shall be paid into the club's bank account by all members on or before the 20th day of each month by standing order from a bank, building society or similar source, except in cases of financial hardship or in other exceptional circumstances a member could request a Subscription Holiday for a period of time that can be reviewed yearly or sooner at the clubs discretion and agreed by 75% of the members present at a properly constituted meeting subject to the quorum requirement of Rule 3b) being met.
b) Each member's subscription will purchase for that member an appropriate number of units according to the unit value declared at the monthly meeting preceding the date when the subscription was paid, subject to club brokerage if such should be in force at the time.
c) The treasurer shall notify members at their monthly meeting if any member is in arrears.
d) The monthly subscription and the level of the club brokerage may be varied at the club's Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting.
e) If any members assets become greater than 50% of the total assets of the club, the member shall cease contributions until the value of those assets are below 50% of the total assets of the club.
9. CAPITAL ACCOUNT
a) The club's assets shall be valued monthly by the Treasurer and a report shall be presented at the next meeting. The value of investments shall be based on the "bid" closing prices as recorded by the London Stock Exchange or other reliable source of price information.
b) The Treasurer's monthly report shall include as minimum the current value of each of the club's investments together with a total value of such investments, a statement of unpaid accounts and cash in hand on the aforesaid day, the total value of the club's assets and the current unit value which shall be determined by dividing the total net asset value by the total number of units issued to members.
10. MEMBER'S ACCOUNTS
An account shall be kept for each member of the club showing: the total investment made by each member by means of subscription, initial lump-sum and/or additional purchases of units, the total of withdrawals made by each member who has sold back units to the club; the total number of units currently held by the member and the current value of his/her holding.
11. MEMBER LEAVING THE CLUB.
a) Resignation of membership must be submitted in writing to the Chairperson, Treasurer or Secretary not less than 7 days before the monthly meeting at which the resignation is to take effect.
b) Members leaving the club, whether by resignation or as the result of termination of membership under Rule 6, shall sell back to the club their entire holding of units.
c) The amount to be paid to a member leaving the club shall be calculated by multiplying the total number of units held by the member by the unit value declared by the Treasurer at the club meeting at which the resignation became effective, subject to deduction of club brokerage if such should be in force at that time and any legal fees incurred by the club in connection with the withdrawal of the member. Any surplus cash held to the member's credit will be added.
d) Payment to the member who has left the club shall be made as soon as possible and in any case within 90 days of the resignation becoming effective.
12. SELLING UNITS.
a) A member may withdraw part of his/her investment in the club by selling back any number of units purchased provided that this action does not reduce his/her holding to less than 100 units.
b) A member wishing to sell back units shall give notice prior to or at the monthly meeting of the club, specifying the number of units to be sold back. This notice may not be amended or withdrawn after the meeting except in accordance with Rule 12 f).
c) The amount paid back to the member shall be determined by multiplying the number of units being sold by the unit value declared at the monthly meeting following notice being given. This will be subject to club brokerage.
d) Payment to the member in respect of selling back units to the club shall be made not later than 90 days following the monthly meeting at which this was agreed.
e) A member may not sell units back to the club until he/she has accrued more than 100 units.
f) Where, due to the unpredictable nature of the investment markets, repayment due in respect to the sale of units back to the club would exceed the total net asset value of the club, then the club shall be wound up in accordance with rules in existence at that time. Under such circumstances the Chairperson may invite the member to reconsider his/her decision to sell.
PURCHASE OF ADDITIONAL UNITS.
g) A member wishing to purchase additional units shall give notice of his intention prior to or at any monthly meeting. This transaction must be approved by a simple majority of members at the meeting.
h) Once this request has been approved it may not be rescinded or the amount varied.
i) The additional investment shall be treated in the same manner as subscriptions in that it will purchase the appropriate number of units based on the unit value declared at the meeting.
13. RUNNING COSTS.
No Member shall be compensated for providing services to the club. Expenses incurred in managing the club shall be recorded in the clubs cash account which shall be funded from the clubs subscription and other income. The Treasurer shall maintain a full and accurate record of all expenditure to submit to the Auditors annually.
14. BANKING.
a) The clubs bank/building society shall be determined annually at the Annual General Meeting but may be changed by agreement of a majority of members at a Special General Meeting called in accordance with Rule 3.
b) All cheques drawn on the clubs account(s) shall require any two of five authorised signatures. Where possible one of the signatories of the cheques should be the Chairperson. In the event of one authorised signatory being unavailable for an extended period, the Officers of the club may authorise a further signatory for the period involved. All income shall be paid direct into the clubs bank/building society account(s) except where members have approved an arrangement whereby their stockbroker retains funds from the sale of one or more investments pending the purchase of other investments.
c) The Clubs bank/building society shall be instructed not to grant any overdraft facilities to the club.
15. BROKERS.
The Clubs brokers shall be instructed that
a) Only one or two named Officers are authorised to buy or sell investments on behalf of the club.
b) No member is authorised to commit the club beyond the cash held by the broker.
c) All cheques due to the clubs account are to be made out payable to the clubs name on non-transferable cheques.
16. COMMITMENTS.
No Club Member shall make any commitment on behalf of the club or commit club funds without written authorisation to do so.
17. AMENDMENT OF RULES
The rules of the club may be amended or rescinded at a General Meeting of the club subject to agreement by at least 75% of members present subject to the quorum requirement of Rule 3 b) being met.
18. MINUTES.
Minutes of the club meetings shall be kept and shall be available for inspection by any member of the club at any reasonable time.
19. DISPUTES.
a) Any disputes as to the interpretation of these rules shall be decided by the Chairperson unless notice is served requesting that the mater should be resolved by a Special General Meeting of club members.
b) Any disputes relating to the valuation of a member's share in the assets of the club or his/her entitlement to that share shall be decided by a chartered accountant (to be appointed by the Chairperson of the club) of at least seven years standing whose certificate of decision shall be final. Fees incurred in obtaining this decision shall be paid by the party to the dispute against whom the decision is made, or in the case of this not being clear the fees shall be shared between the club and the member or ex-member concerned.
20. WINDING UP.
The club shall be wound up and all assets divided among members (after payment of club expenses) in accordance with the number of units held by each member if a resolution to that effect is passed by at least 75 per cent of the members present at a properly constituted meeting subject to the quorum requirement of Rule 3 b) being met.
21. TAX LIABILITY
Membership of the club implies acceptance of proportional tax liability on trading profits made by the club in any tax year.
22. DECISIONS.
Decisions made at all meetings will be made on a one member one vote basis.
23. CLUB BROKERAGE.
An internal brokerage fee of 1% will be applied to all withdrawals, subject to a minimum charge of £15, except in an instance where the pay-out costs the club more than the clubs specified charges, the club reserves the right to deduct those costs from the final pay-out.
24. MEDWAY MONEY PIT PRIVACY POLICY.
Medway Money Pit retains personal data of members. This data is retained to allow Medway Money Pit to keep members updated on the club and updated on their investments. This data may be shared only with the club broker or bank, when specifically requested by those institutions and advised to members. This data will not be shared with any other third parties.
If any member would like access to their personal data held by Medway Money Pit then they can request this at any time.
As amended 24 November 2020
