From NYFA Quarterly - The Long Run: A Performer's Life
Fall 2003 issue

In this column, NYFA Program Officer Edith Meeks interviews performing artists about issues relating to their working careers. Here, she speaks with David Sharp about artists and finance.

David Maurice Sharp worked with Mimi Garrard Dance Theatre from 1993 to 2001. He also danced for Lucinda Childs, Blondell Cummings, Sean Curran, Rachel Lampert, Heidi Latsky, Lonne Moretton, and Anna Sokolow, among others. Sharp’s choreography has been performed at such venues as La MaMa, Lincoln Center, and Movement Research. His video work, Shadow Dance, received a Silver Award from the Dance on Camera Festival. Sharp is now working in financial markets for Innisfree M&A Incorporated as a specialist in global voting issues. He is a founding member of the Thriving Artists Investment Club, a limited partnership established by a small group of artist-friends to educate one another about investing and personal portfolio managements.

Edith Meeks: You’ve made a pretty unusual career combination of dancing and corporate financial consulting. Do you make any connection between the two?

David Sharp: After college, if someone had told me that I was going to be working in the financial markets area I would have thought they were crazy. Once I started working as a dancer, I was always looking for a way to make my rent money. A friend suggested that I might try temping so I could choose which days I wanted to work. I registered with her agency, and they immediately sent me on an interview with a proxy solicitation firm. The first question was, “What do you know about the stock market?” I said, “Absolutely nothing, but I can learn.” After two years of temping I had become specialized in proxy validity and contested elections, so they asked if I would be willing to take a permanent job with them. I said that I would only be willing to work part-time and that I would need to schedule my time there around classes, rehearsals, performances, and touring. They agreed.

EM: Tell us about the impetus to start the Thriving Artists Investment Club. How does it work, and why might investing as a group be a useful strategy for artists?

DS: The Thriving Artists Investment Club was founded so that artists could freely discuss financial matters and investing without feeling intimidated. Because of my work in the financial world, several friends had approached me with questions about investing. Investment clubs were really in the headlines at that time, largely due to the publication of The Beardstown Ladies, so we started tossing around the idea of starting one. We each asked some friends if they might be interested and scheduled a get-together. Nine people showed up at that first meeting. We met for a few months as a kind of trial run and to discuss what we were all looking for in an investment club. In January of 1998 we signed the legal documents forming the Thriving Artists Investment Club as a limited partnership. The goals of the club were, in order of importance: (1) to learn about investing, particularly from an artist’s perspective, in an unintimidating environment; (2) to have fun learning and socializing; and (3) to make money.

I think we are all proud of how successful the club has been. It is a great environment for learning, saving, creating some financial security, and having fun. By keeping our monthly dues low ($25 per month), we ensure that it is not a hardship for anyone, while still disciplining ourselves to save. Members are encouraged to invest outside the club, utilizing the information learned at the meetings.

EM: The dancer’s life is probably one of the hardest from a financial perspective. Many performers live from paycheck to paycheck and aren’t able to build savings. How can a freelancer on a restricted income with no built-in benefits accumulate some savings and security for the future?

DS: The best advice that I can give is to get into the habit of saving a set amount of money every month no matter what. Even if it is only $10, it will build up. The other thing that can be helpful is to figure out what your monthly expenses are. Put all of your paychecks into one account; then once a month, transfer the amount of your monthly expenses to your “living” account. This helps prevent binge spending during those times when you actually have extra money coming in.

Also, for retirement start an IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP IRA. Even if you can only put $100 a year in, it is a start—and it is hard to touch the money so you will be more likely to not spend it.

EM: It can be tempting to stake your financial future on the hope that you will someday “make it big” and your financial troubles will be over. Can you suggest some elements for an alternative strategy that might help an artist stay solvent, independent, and working over the long run?

DS: Most financial advice (from magazines, TV, etc.) is geared towards people with permanent jobs, so the emphasis is on not generating current income (through dividends and interest) but rather on capital gains and tax strategies. For performers, I think the opposite is true. Once I had saved up a little cash, I started investing in mutual funds that generated dividends or interest: short-term bond funds, money market funds, income stock funds, etc. I had the funds reinvest the dividends to keep building my holdings, while knowing that if I needed extra cash at some point I could start having the dividends sent to me instead. Most performers are in a low tax bracket, so having your investments help with current income seems like a logical thing to do.

The Pauper
www.thepauper.com
Online resource specifically for artists features “The Starving Artist Guide to Financial Planning” and “The Pauper’s Free Financial Plan for Beginners.”

The Motley Fool
www.fool.com
User-friendly advice on financial matters including investing basics, credit card debt, choosing a 401k, annuities, mutual funds, brokers, mortgages, savings, and retirement.

Actors’ Federal Credit Union (AFCU)
www.actorsfcu.com
165 West 46th Street
14th Floor
New York, NY 10036
212.869.8926
Serves members of performers’ and associated technical unions, including AEA, AGMA, the Musicians’ Union, SAG, SSD&C, Writers’ Guild, Songwriters’ Guild, craft and scenic unions, etc. Investment services are available for members. The website includes online calculators for savings, investments, mortgages, etc.

National Association of Investors Corporation
www.betterinvesting.org/public/default.htm

The preceding article is for informational purposes only and should not be understood as business/legal counsel.