If I have about $40K to invest and I want to make that grow with the least risk within 5-10 yrs?

Question

What is the best way? Mutual Funds? Bonds? I know I need to diversify, but how and with what? I know little about investing, and would like educated advice please...

Answer 1

you need to understand that what we often think of as low risk is really high risk. We think of a savings account as low risk, or savings bonds as low risk, but the truth is that inflation will make them evaporate. You must include stocks (mutual funds, eft's, bonds etc) if you want growth.
WARNING: now, having said you need to invest in stocks, don't do it yet. A lot of people are anticipating a recession in 2007. I would continue rolling my money in CD's right now(see step3) and through much of 2007. Wait for the market to be around the bottom before investing in stocks.


consider this:

If you are 25 today and you retire at 67 with a million dollar investment portfolio, that will safely generate $60K/year. But when you are 67, that 60K will only have the buying power of a little over $16K/year. It gets worse though, because at 67, you will still probably have 30 more years to live and that 16K will shrink each year until it’s only worth $8K/year at age 90.

A million dollars isn’t what it used to be… and it will be even less in the future.

So…. We must all become educated investors much more so then our parents were and start sooner. These are some basic steps to get you started. We tend to learn from our mistakes and 40K would be an expensive lesson. So learn from the mistakes of others instead.


Step 1.
First decide what kind of brokerage you want to work with. You can open a brokerage account in your bank, with a large full service brokerage or an internet brokerage. I find when I get help, most people want to sell me things that are better for them…. So I use http://www.scottrade.com because it’s cheap and easy with low frills. I like their streaming quotes and I do my own research and make my own investments. But any low cost internet brokerage service is fine.

Step 2. get a subscription to Barrons or Investors Business Daily… Do this for 6 months or a year. At first, It seems a bit mysterious, but pretty soon you start to understand the terms and things that investors are looking for and what they are afraid of

Step 3. Right now, invest your money in CD’s. First the market is unstable and second you have some homework in Step 4 to do before you do any investing. Invest 10K in a 6month and 10K in a 3 monthCD, next month add 10K to another 3monthCD and the third month the final 10K in a 3 monthCD. This way, every month 10K becomes available and you can reinvest in another CD or put it in some fund if the market picks up.

Step 4. Go out to the internet and search on the following subjects. Become very familiar with the concepts.
Asset allocation
Long term investing
inflation
Roth ira vs ira
Large med small cap
Value vs growth
Indexed mutual funds
No load mutual funds
ETF
Sector funds
Bonds CD preferred stock
dividends
International funds
Market cycles
volatility
Fundamental analysis
Technical analysis
In most cases, I think it is wise to use indexed mutual funds and ETF to build the base of your portfolio.

Step 5 go to http://clearstation.etrade.com/ and sign up for a free account. Play around there by looking at graphs and fundamentals. If you click on the graph names, you will get clear information about what the graph is based on and how to interpret it. I think it’s also a good idea to pretend you have $10,000 and start buying and selling on paper. Keep track of where you are each day for a month… It’s a lot easier to lose play money then real money….
WARNING: don’t rely on technical analysis alone. These graphs are good at telling you WHEN to buy and sell, but now WHAT to buy.

Step 6. It’s always a good Idea to see a CFP (certified financial planner). Their job is to work for your benefit, not to sell you investments. They can cover subjects like employee benefits, insurance, budgeting, living trusts, 401k, taxes and real estate as well as investment types and investment types to keep away from.

Always strive to do your own research… you’ll find everyone sounds like an expert so take everything people tell you with a grain of salt. It’s not easy in the beginning but soon you will be the expert.

Don’t get involved with futures, currency, options (unless you get stock options at work), commodities, annuities or other derivative type investments at this time.


Good Luck

Answer 2

What I would do based on my risk factor may be quite different from you. I would go with safe T-bills or CDs. Sure, you could make 10-12% on your money with higher risk options but you could also lose all your money. Is it worth it? Don't invest what you cannot afford to lose. The higher the interest rate return, the higher the risk so use that to gauge what you intend to do. Are you completely debt free? Are you maxxed out with your 401K plan? Check out www.bankrate.com for the best rates on money markets, savings accounts, etc. Pay off any debts you may have now ... it will give you far more security than checking stocks and bonds rates every day worrying.

Answer 3

If I were you I would invest in Exchange Traded Funds. They are like mutual funds, but generally have lower expenses, and they outperform 85% of mutual funds, and are divirsified enough so your risk is lower. The longer you invest, the better, because short term losses are possible, but long term gains are all but guaranteed.

Answer 4

Depends on where you live. If outside the US, there are csome excellent portfolio bonds available. Most give you a diverse variety of unit linked funds that you can invest in. The good thing about portfolio bonds, is that you can add other assets to the bond, and manage it all "under one roof".

Answer 5

With that much money just get a solid CD. Mutualy funds can provide decent growth in that amount of time, but some years are better than others.

Answer 6

I suggest you to stay away from bonds.

ETFs, Mutual Funds and Stocks are my suggestions.

If you need Financial Advice you can contact me.

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Answer 7

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