I have roughly 40 thousand to invest, so what do I do now?

Question

I want to be able to maximize my profit, but I cannot afford to risk any of it. My friend says Mutual funds are paying 5% interest. Is that the best I can hope for and not risk anything? I can leave it for a year, or more if the payout is good enough, but not too much more. Suggestions?

HELp please. Total novice here.

I saw an ad on tv recently for US OIL AND GAS looking for investors with 59,000 to invest that would pay out 4000 a month for up to 12 years. How is that even possible?

Answer 1

If you want a safe yet flexible investment, go with an online savings account. Some of the rates on these types of bank accounts are just as good as or better than CDs but you are not locked into keeping the money invested for a designated period of time (i.e. 3 month - 7 year CD). You can make up to 6 withdrawals a month. To find the best rates available, look at the following website:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_highratehome.asp?web=brm¶ms=US,416&prodtype=chksav&market=416&product=33&state=US&sort=3

BTW, I recently opened an account with iGObanking.com (5.30% APY with only a $1 min and no fees) and would recommend them.

Answer 2

Any mutual fund can lose money, especially those that invest in stock. And definitely don't believe any advertisement about where to invest your money. Chances are the people advertising want your money and really don't care about making a profit for you. In other words, they are mostly scams. The only "risk free" investment are government T-bills from the US treasury (you can find them online) and CD's and money market accounts from FDIC insured banks. Low risk investments include high grade corporate bonds. These can be purchase individually or through a bond mutual fund. If you don't want to take any risk then you will probably only make 3%-6% per year. Actually, you barely make anything after you pay taxes on your gains and factor in inflation. Unfortunately, you have to take risk to get good long-term gains.

But you can minimize your risk though diversification. If you are willing to take a little risk and want better returns, you can use a diversified conservative growth mutual fund. Vanguard Wesselley Fund is a good one. It has mostly high grade bonds and some stock.

However based on your short time horizon. I would actually recommend going with a short-term bond or 1-year CD instead of a mutual fund. You can buy CDs through numerous banks either locally or online. Shop around to get the highest rate, but you probably won't find any over 5%.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 3

I'd suggest a 12 month CD(Certficate of Deposit), shop around. CD are no risk at all. They tell you exactly how much you will have when it is up. Look at credit unions over banks. With 40k you probally get a nice percentage... think +5%

If you invest in Mutual Funds there is risk, but usally over long term (5-10 years) you make money, just because of infaltion and the economy growing. You can have short term gains, but also losses.

Answer 4

Thats a scam. Invest half into a small stock with high potential. For example Under Armor. It started out like 8 bucks a share. Now its up to 80 in under 3 months time. It depends on you the investor. If you are a safe investor, you will probably want something like mutual funds, or stocks and bonds. Or if you want to be a high risk trader, just invest in stocks. I myself am a high risk trader. I enjoy the gamble. But it's up to you.

Answer 5

Go to Fidelity on line...get a phone number...talk to a rep who can give you EXCELLENT advice on splitting that money up into a few different types of investments that could change your life from here on out.....
Some for retirement...
Some invested sensibly...( no oil scams or schemes)
A ready cash/ checking account...
No hard sell...just people who know some ins and outs that you don't. If you're the least bit afraid of "losing" they'll recommend some "cautious" stuff.( but it should do WAY better than that 5% you mentioned. At least call and let them send you stuff to read!!
Best of luck.

Answer 6

I don't know about your updated post. As a total novice, with no experience, I would say to invest in California real estate. The market right now is a buyer's market. You could purchase a rental property for below market value, rent it out to pay the mortgage and sell it in about 5 years for a hefty profit, provided you do some upgrades and the renters don't trash it. Stay away from the Sacramento and Fresno markets; you can't go wrong in the Bay Area or LA/SD area. Weather is nice, everyone wants to live there and they're willing to pay for it. I bought a home in Martinez, CA (Bay Area) in July 2001 for $190,000. I put $20,000 in upgrades and sold it in July 2003 for $305,000. I bought a home in Citrus Heights, CA in July 2003 for $240,000, did nothing and sold it in August 2004 for $305,000. These are examples - not what is to be expected. I say real estate is the best investment.

Answer 7

Hi Jaden,

A very good place to start is by going to the Chales Schwab brokerage site. They offer a free online course in investing for those like yourself, who are intersted in investing, but with no idea of what , or how, to begin.

The course is easy to read, with everything you need to know about basic investment stratagies, risk management, and different types of investments, with both pro and cons of each, according to your goals

I donm't have their link, but any search for Charles Schwab is going to get you there.

Good luck ...

Answer 8

I know a company currently offering 28% annually without risk.

I can pick Mutual Funds, ETFs, REITs or Stocks that can make at least 56% annually for you but you have to be willing to risk at least 1% of your money ($400.00)

You cannot make the big bucks without taking risks.

Top 4 Answerer.

Answer 9

The oil ads are scams

Put your short term money in CDs..they are paying at least paying 5%

Answer 10

Gold is getting ready to explode. Buy gold. But there is no such thing as reward without risk. If you don't wan to risk anything, put it in a savings account and lose money with bank charges.