OmGen Interview with Black Enterprise

Vikki Conwell <vrconwell@aol.com> wrote:

Mr. Tolbert,
Here is some of the information I will need from your investment club?

What is your investment philosophy?

"We are a unified, committed, and caring organization dedicated to positively impacting the community, spiritually, economically, educationally and politically."

What is your current portfolio value?

$850,000

What is the current makeup of your portfolio (top 5 stocks by percentage)?

Our portfolio (including %) consist of: Stocks (8%), Bonds (2%), Real Estate (70%), Home Construction Co-partner (2%) & Cash (18%).

Top 5 stocks & stock portfolio percentage:

-Constellation Brand (STZ) - 19%

-Helmerich & Payne INC (HP) - 10%

-Brown & Brown INC (BRO) - 8%

-Genlyte Group INC (GLYT) - 8%

-Starbucks Corp (SBUX) - 7%

What was the lowest value and when?
$30,000 was the lowest value.  42 members had just formed and this was the first OmGen, LLC investment contribution in Feb 1997.

What obstacles and challenges has the club overcome?
1). Purchasing our first property (Stockton, CA.) with cash.

2). Securing our own credit in the name of OmGen, LLC.

How many members do you have and what are their backgrounds?

There are currently 20 members. Background of the members are; "Christian," parents and professional individual working in various industries in our area.

What distinguishes your club from others?

We are all Christians, supported each other and concerned about the well-being of each other... 24/7.

What's unique about the way it operates?

We keep no 'secret' from one another. Because of this, we have very high level of trust amongst the membership.

How are meetings handled? How often?

The entire (group) membership meets once a month (4th Saturday). There are 4 key Committees and each committee meets at least once a month and provides report/status of their activity (ies)at the group meeting.   There is a standard format which we used to conduct the meeting. We Open & close all meetings with a prayer.

How are departing members cashed out?
Departing members are cashed out by their percentage of ownership.  There has not been a departing member that lost any of their investment money yet when they've cashed out.  The lowest profit a departed member has received to date is 12%.

Do you consult with a financial advisor?

No!

To what do you attribute your performance?

We have an "Advisory Board" committee that consist of various members that regular meet on the 2nd Saturday of each month (communicate with each other throughout the week; via: email, phone, lunch, etc.) to discuss all of our portfolio investments, current & future investments and potential new ventures.

Also, our membership is made up of individuals who are investor savory and do their research very thorough.

What are your short-term and long-term goals?

Short-term goal: Having a net worthy of over $1 million.

Long-term goal: Branch out into multiple opportunities and have each business unit stands on it own and make a profit annually.

How and when did you decide to purchase real estate?

As stated above, we purchased our first real estate with cash approximately. We decided to purchase our first real estate property about 20 months after we had formed as a group and purchased our first property in 1999.

How are taxes handled?
K-1 issued to each member.  Taxes owed are based on the LLC gains and each member percentage of ownership is calculated per the LLC gain. Note: one of our members is a CPA that prepares and issued the K-I to the members.

I look forward to talking with you in the morning.

Vikki Conwell
Black Enterprise magazine

Thanks,

Jeremiah Tolbert