1. What is aus.invest?

'aus.invest' is a newsgroup in the aus.* (Australian) hierarchy and is dedicated to the discussion of investment related topics relevant to Australian investors.

2. Which subjects fall under the umbrella of "Investing"?

The group's charter covers the discussion of all subjects relevant to investing in financial markets, real estate and other hard assets. This includes discussion of the business, economic and tax environment as far as they concern individual investors.

Other commercial activities are not within the scope of this group.

It is also not to be used to solicit clients for specific business proposals or real estate opportunities, multilevel marketing schemes and similar propositions. 

3. Is commercial advertising permitted?

As a general rule: "No Advertising"!

Business propositions and advertisements must be posted in newsgroups in the aus.ads.* hierarchy or - if appropriate - in one of the various alt.business.* , biz.* or misc.entrepreneurs.* groups.

Exceptions to this general rule are only acceptable if the advertisement relates directly to the process of financial decision making of private investors (This does not include offers of investment products or business proposals).

Acceptable advertising will relate to *tools* for investors (e.g. charting or trading programs) or *data and information* used for making investment decisions (e.g. stock prices, newsletters).

Acceptable advertisements of this nature may only be posted once a month.

4. Are there guidelines concerning investment recommendations?

When commenting on a particular investment or stock, contributors should declare any personal interest so readers are better informed.  Anyone intending to act on a recommendation should obtain independent advice and follow prudent investment principles. 

5. Can postings be crossposted from other groups?

Crosspostings are only acceptable if they adhere to the objectives of this discussion group and if the topic relates to Australian investors.

6. How will this charter be enforced?

'Enforcement' will mainly rely on the Internet spirit of a 'self-policed anarchy'. Participants in aus.invest are encouraged to inform advertisers of the purpose of this group. This may be done by forwarding a copy of this charter. In repeat cases a copy could be sent to the system administrator of the advertiser (i.e. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).  The aus.invest community adopted this charter unanimously in June 1996 and reserves the right to cancel postings which do not comply with it.

Dieter Benken

email : dbenken @ iinet.net.au