but my bank called me and wanted to tell me about their invest ment options available. Now I don't know what to do. I read a book and thought that mutual funds would be a good thing for me, but now i;m not sure. I don't make a lot of money, and I don't want to get ripped off, but I also want to get the best return i can. What should I do?
2007-01-27 21:15:57 · 12 answers · asked by lefty 4 in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
That's a tough one, mainly based on your age. If your young it would be different then if you were retired. Lets start...I would go to my bank and ladder some CDs. Put 2k in at 3 months, 2k for 6 months and 2k for 9 months. Then in 3 months reinvest in a 9 month CD, so on and so on. Now you do your home work. Start watching all the business news,reading all the business papers you can. Now you can "paper" trade. In a note book you write down the of company you want to invest in, the date the price you "payed", ect....or mutual fund. When you get comfortable you use the 2k CD that comes due and invest in your well researched company or fund. Don't for get to keep an emergency fund and cash for bills.......good luck!!!
2007-01-27 21:51:48 · answer #1 · answered by Gift # 1 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your intuition about mutual funds is generally correct. They are probably the best method for investing a small to medium amount of money with a good probability of havesting a return of about 10%+ annually. The main problem is that about 70% of mutual funds are not all that good of investments. One has to select carefully. Morningstar has a good rating system for mutual funds with the best rated at 5 stars. Yahoo mutual fund scanner can find those for you. After you find several that you like go directly to their web site down load the forms and invest in them. Pick at least 2 and 3 would be better. Pick them with different investment goals. maybe a large cap fund and a small cap fund.
If you do sign up with a discount broker, most will also sell you mutual fund. They also will sell you closed end funds which trade like stocks but are actually a form of mutual funds. The will also sell you index funds which a a sort of low cost non-managed mutual fund.
A couple of my favorites are PENNX sold by Royce funds. It is a small cap fund with a long track record of about 13% annual return. GAM a closed end fund with a very very long track record. It has been in business since 1928. Since 1980 it has returned about 16% annually. TDF a closed end fund investing in China. What more do I need to say. But it is more risky than GAM or PENNX. Among index funds I am partial to IWN, a small cap value fund. So far this year it has not done too well though.
Many investors prefer the S&P 500 index funds. They have not performed too well during the last 5 years until last year. I think they may be making a come back. SPY is the most popular with 58 billion invested. IVV is also popular with 17 billion invested. Both track the S&P 500.
If you have a fancy to protect yourself from the falling dollar, think about EFA, which invests in international companies. It is the 2nd most popular index fund with 29 billion invested. I think many people are concerned about the value of the dollar. I for one. Its 5 year annual return is 15%, nothing to sneeze at.
2007-01-28 01:53:37 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Avoid the bank. They will likely try to sell you a load fund,in which they will make 5.5% commission off the top. You're best bet is to go to the Vanguard Funds website and check out their funds. They are no-load, have very low expense ratios, and as anyone in the business will tell you are hated among brokers because the don't get paid if they were to sell them. Take your 7K and buy 1/2 in a large cap fund, 1/4 in small caps, and 1/4 in international funds. I assuming you a young and have plenty of time for this to grow. If not add reduce the above amounts and add some fixed income. Once you invest it, let it alone. Unless you follow the market daily, it does not pay to time the market.
2007-01-28 00:09:20 · answer #3 · answered by Mark W 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you don't know what you are doing you should change your priorities. Pay someone who does know and pay a management fee and invest in mutual funds... Dont fool around with individual stocks. Dont be too aggressive.. it sounds like this is a lot of money to you and you may need it in an emergency Pay a broker's fee and get some guidance in the art of diversification... you'll spend an extra 100$ and save a $1000 in errors. buy some books and learn... later on you can take a more hands on approach
2016-05-24 08:10:15 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best place to invest is Scottrade.com - they offer $7 online trades. Next you need some understanding of the market - read "The Little Book that Beats the Market" - this is a short, fun, informative read. You will be a better investor after reading this.
Next, to find investment ideas I would suggest http://www.top10traders.com - this is a free site that lets you create a portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in "play" money. Each day the site ranks the best performing portfolios, so you can see how your picks perform compared to other investors. You can also read posts on investing from the best traders, as well as share your own investing ideas. There is also a charting feature , so you can see how your portfolio performs compared to the S&P 500.
Here are this month's best traders:
http://www.top10traders.com/Top10Standings.aspx
Good luck.
2007-01-28 02:18:46 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Mutual funds are ok. But unless you're prepared to take the risk, don't expect a high return. Also don't put all your eggs in one basket. Invest in different things. Stocks and Foreign Currencies might be good alternatives. If you have the opportunity, start a small business.
2007-01-27 21:28:51 · answer #6 · answered by Dubaiyuki 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
1st advice, never invest through bank ... they often sales product which they interest in or won by bank!
2nd go with low risk since you don't have much to play with and no experience.
3rd you can off course try discount broker but remember it works like vending machine, you don't know the item until you buy plus you don't get advice.
Investment depends on factors like time frame, risk tolerance, experience etc.
email me if u need more help.
2007-01-27 22:16:28 · answer #7 · answered by Ted 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
stocks are the best way to go..buy a book by James Cramer..and /or watch his show at night on CNBC..he has some really good financial advice...you can also set up a hypothitical account with stocks you like on one of the brokerage firms on line ....watch them daily, see how you do, and once you feel comfortable, you can actually buy a stock, for example if you see a stock selling for 25 dolars a share, it would cost you 2,500 to buy 100 shares..if it goes up one point and you but 100 shares you will make 100 dollars...best of luck to you...buy a stock that you know....microsoft, dell computer, mcdonalds, ect
2007-01-28 00:05:36 · answer #8 · answered by GARY S 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would suggest you to check the website below to learn more on shares and stock trading and how to select the best stocks.
Hope it helps
http://money-review-site.com/shares.html
2007-01-28 08:17:50 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Want to invest in Gold? I can connect you will someone who educate you about buying and selling gold.
2007-01-27 21:25:52 · answer #10 · answered by Emily L 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋