One of your responders mentioned index funds. Generally he is correct. But here is the problem. There are over 200 different index funds. Which to pick? He mentioned the S&P 500. That particular idex fund has been one of the worst performers over the last 5 years. Maybe he thinks it is due for a recovery. Many have been predicting that for 5 years now. They could be correct.
Since you have a few thousand, you should not dump it all into one index fund, but maybe a couple. That will give you a better chance of getting a good return. S&P 500 is a good bet for no more than 1/2. With the other 1/2 try a foreign index fund maybe or a small cap index fund. There is an index fund that invests in Chinese companies. It is beating the performance of the 500 by a very wide margin as are the small cap funds.
A mutual fund that I like is PENNX. Excellent long term track record. Invests in small cap stocks. Look for it at Royce Funds on the internet. The small cap index fund IWN has similar investments and has done similarly well.
2006-12-29 08:36:59
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Don't do CD's. The bank that gave you the CD just invests the money themselves and makes a great profit off of it while you're stuck with the low returns. If you really need the money, invest in something safe (government bonds, ect.) If you're going to invest in the stocks, buy an index such as the dow, Nasdaq, or S&P. If you want more risk, do some research on companies and maybe buy them if you like them. If you're in the military, you have an edge in a way since you are probably more knowledgebal about the goods and supplies they are buying. What companies have they been buying supplies from? Which military supplies work better then others? Let me know. Invest at your own risk. You shouldn't invest money that you absolutely need. Be prepared to lose it all or maybe make a hefty profit.
The S&P is pretty much as good as any other index. Many believe that the past peformance of an index has little to do with its future performance.
2006-12-29 16:38:35
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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I'd suggest you look into an index fund like the S&P 500.
Index funds contain a balanced portfolio of the top stocks in an index like the S&P or the NASDAQ. They're very low cost to get into and offer strong returns.
The Motley Fool has a number of good articles on the pros of an index funds over other mutual funds:
"Fools are certainly indebted to John Bogle, for showing clearly that -- contrary to what you may have read on countless magazine covers -- mutual fund investing is extremely simple: Buy an index fund.
(Psst. There's a reason that all these magazines don't tell you how simple mutual fund investing really is. Scientific marketing surveys and focus group testing have determined that magazines with covers that read "Index Funds: Still The Best Choice!!!" every single month really wouldn't sell as well as magazines that promise "Our BRAND NEW 10 Best Mutual Funds To Buy RIGHT NOW!" Sad, but true.)
In 1975, John Bogle presented an idea to the board of directors of the newly formed Vanguard Group -- create an extremely low-cost mutual fund that would not attempt to beat the returns of the stock market as measured by Standard & Poor's 500 index; instead, it would attempt to mirror the index as closely as it could by buying each of the index's 500 stocks in amounts equal to the weightings within the index itself."
From: http://www.fool.com/mutualfunds/indexfunds/indexfunds01.htm
You can read more about investment advice and the value of index funds in the classic book: "A Romdown Walk Down Wall Street"
http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0393325350&id=-FQXwG0UoHcC&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&ots=LmS_6ZZro7&dq=a+random+walk+down+walk+street&sig=mCmyxlPMs8rVHUBf1E__-oJN_Ug
Good luck!
2006-12-29 15:32:52
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answer #3
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answered by Micah 1
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One thing you could do....join one of the $9.95 trade outfits (I know they are not all that cheap, but you get what I mean). Like Ameritrade or E*Trade. I believe they will let you trade stocks and mutual funds (MF's are less risk than stocks if you ask me). The only time you pay is if you actually buy or sell shares. For me, I do my research and buy/sell very infrequently. Yet I have seen my investment increase over 50% in only a year or two. If that makes you feel uncomfortable, there are always the standard financial advisors....Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley, etc. You could even do most of your business over the phone or e-mail (I only talk to mine maybe 1x per year on the phone and only ever saw 1x in person). Even though there are annual fees attached to the accounts, I don't pay anything unless I buy/sell. So it's a bit more maintenance, but you actually get the opinion of a human being unlike the other type.
2006-12-29 15:28:38
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answer #4
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answered by CG 6
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at your age and with the few bills you have in the military, i would start a roth ira, let your money and interest grow tax free for the next 40 years, at 20 you shouldnt be in a cd, unless all you want is to conserve your money
join a no load fund family like troweprice, vanguard, or fidelity, if you dont want to take much time to learn just pick one of the funds that you just tell them the year you want to retire, a target date fund, but if i was 20 again i would have my money in mutual funds for sure,not a savings account or cd
if you plan on using this for something you can start a roth and a taxable account and put half and half, or actually with a roth you can take the money out to use for a first time buy on a house later if you want
short answer: invest in mutual funds, be aggressive but not crazy (not all emerging markets for example)
try troweprice spectrum growth, they invest in all of their own growth funds and international funds, or the value fund made me 20% this year
2006-12-29 15:24:50
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answer #5
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answered by swenjj 4
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I have a brokerage account at Scottrade, and invest in a real estate mutual fund, no load, no transaction fee, and it has been making me about 20% per year.
Excelisior Real Estate Fund - UMREX
Consider putting money into a Roth IRA also, for tax free retirement gains. You can invest in the same instruments in your Roth IRA at Scottrade as a regular brokerage account.
2006-12-29 17:28:54
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answer #6
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answered by Darth Vader 6
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You should open up an account with a brokerage firm such as TDAmeritrade, Fidelity, E*Trade etc. and invest into stocks if you time to spend. If time is an issue, then you should consider mutual funds.
2006-12-29 17:41:47
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answer #7
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answered by Freddy 2
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fyi. Cds are really useless. You only make a small amount of money, and by that time due to inflation, it may actually be worth only as much as you started with.
I would say, when you get out get a higher education.
2006-12-29 18:20:30
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answer #8
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answered by adklsjfklsdj 6
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Try trade forex. Agresive investment should fit to your disposition since you are military.
I could introduce you to one brokerage company in Austria that allows to trade from same account currency (forex), commodities, metals and cfd on shares; total 500 instruments available. Currency spread from 1 pip. Furthermore if you open trading account under my referral I provide you for free with trading techniques that I successfully use for several years. If you are interesting please pm or e-mail me (press my name) and I provide you with further details. Please note I'm not related with the company but I have rights of Introducing Broker
2006-12-30 10:54:56
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answer #9
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answered by VP 3
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Hi, i suggest a great site with plenty of Issues related to your Investing and everything around it. it also provide clear and accurate answer to many common questions.
http://investing.sitesled.com/
I am sure that you can get your answers in this website.
Good Luck and Best Wishes!
2006-12-30 02:41:41
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answer #10
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answered by Anonymous
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