If I you had 10,000$ to invest in something in the hopes of making a profit, what would you invest it in?

Answer 1

Well, you did not mention how much of a profit you had in mind.

T-bills will give you about 5%, the after tax effective rate is actually pretty good because the interest is exempt from state and local taxes. No hope of making a profit here. It is a sure thing.

Mutual funds, especially if you select about 3 different funds, will offer you the potential of about 10% to 13% probably annual profit over a period of 10 years. Over shorter periods of time the profit may be more and it may be less. During certain years it may be negative. The probability based on past history is about 85%. There is some argument that past history may not be a good indication. No one really knows what the future might have in store for us.

Oil stocks have a pretty good record of consistant returns. And bank stocks also. In oils there are plenty to choose from XOM the world's largest. APC, COP, DVN and many others.

Banks have a long record of consistent steady earnings. BAC, C, USB, BBT are several that come to mind. There are a lot of others.

Now if you have a hard time making up your mind and do not know which way to turn, there are the index funds. Buy a slice of the S&P 500 in the form of SPY or a slice of the small cap index in the form of IWM or even the mid cap index (I forget the ticker symbol). Sort of go with the flow.

Answer 2

My freind, there is no better investment on this planet than property investments, anything you buy these days will go up in value short or long term (it is safe and secure) if you can get a return from a property it is a bonus (rent)
anything near or not far from the beach is both thumbs up no matter how big or small it is,
You can never loose, these days money has no real value, but assets/propertys have.
why am i writing here well, i will be quick, i made a lot of money with property investments, than i thought i play the shares like all my family and freinds and guess what folks, i lost it all i was on zero, so i started now building my portfolio of investments just like i did earlier on in my years, and things are looking up. One thing is for sure, i will never invest in shares again, i am useless at it i admit plus shares are not a necessaty to people so they go up and down, property is... everyone needs somewhere to stay, and the only people that lost in property is the ones that sold this is how i see it

Well, good luck in which road you decide to follow :)

Answer 3

Listen, its 10k. Its probably important to you. Don't put it in stocks. you'll probably lose it

Short term.
1) Best chance for short term, Bank CD or bond. for 6 months you can get 5-6 percent for 6 months to a year... not a lot of money. but Guaranteed capital.
2) Or find someone who has a good idea. A solid good idea, and ask to join him and you're in for a percentage of the profit. for months to a year. High risk...

But the best and easiest thing to do is choose a good mutual fund, or ask someone for help, and keep the money in there long term. It'll be worth a lot in 20-30 years, and you'll really appreciate it then.

As for property. Listen if you have 10 big ones. and you live in a little town, and only then would I say go ahead, buy something worth 30-50 Grand. put down 10% (3000 to 5000) some for down payment, and try to rent. Remember, you need the renter, and you may need cash for in case anything breaks, so you have 5000 for that... you can try it. but you will have about the same amount when you are done paying off the mortgage as you will on a mutual fund of 20 years. Do you need the headache???? Tenants, not necessarily will the value will appreciate, etc etc...

too much to write all here..

check out bankrate.com for alot of investment tools...

10k Hmmm save save save.

Answer 4

Your most important investment would be your education. Use the money to educate yourself. After that, it would depend on three things 1) your risk tolerance, 2) your investment time horizon, and 3) your goals. The more you can tolerate risk, meaning your investment going up and down without changing your strategy, and the longer your time horizon, the more you should lean toward stocks. If you are risk intolerant, or will need the money shortly (i.e. less than about 5-7 years), you should lean toward fixed investments, such as CD's and/or money markets.

If the money is for retirement, you should put up to the max per year into an IRA (assuming you have earned income). This will allow you to avoid paying taxes on any earnings for years, or decades. You might want to consider a low cost targeted retirement fund, such as those offered by Vanguard.

If you get in the stock market, it's best to come up with a long term strategy. Don't jerk your money from stock to stock or fund to fund, it's not some wacky board game where you're constantly making moves based on daily news. That's a fool's game, and you'll see plenty of fools playing it. Pick a few diversified funds, preferably index funds with very low costs, and stick with them for a decade or two regardless of daily results.

The stock market averages 10.5% return per year, on average. This means you money doubles every 7 years on average. So, in 14 years, your $10,000 should be $40,000, or so, on average, if you pick a diversified fund and stick with it.

Any other strategy is gambling. I noticed someone mentioned real estate. That has a place, perhaps, for some of your funds, but beware those, as the person who responded here, who feel about real estate like some would feel about their religion, with zealotry they believe in regardless of uncomfortable facts.

Good luck.

Answer 5

You wont get much property for 10k and I agree stocks can be risky to the novice investor you might consider gold there is a finite supply and I doubt it will ever loose its appeal just look at the market trends and try not to buy during the peaks it not a short term investment typically do some research first.

Answer 6

"Stocks will rise and fall; utilities and transportation systems will crumble, and people are no damn good. But they will alway need land, and they will pay through the nose to get it." -- Lex Luthor

contrary to lex's sage advice, you won't get a lot of real estate for $10,000 US. So if you want to invest, the stock market is as good a place as any...it has risen fairly steadily over the last 75 years. just make sure you do your homework and be darn sure that you are DIVERSIFIED!

Answer 7

if you just want a profit, do T-Bills. Free money almost.

Answer 8

ARMY TANKS FOR WAR...

Answer 9

DIA.