Investing

[The Guard]

I wish to. I know next to nothing about it. Help.

 

[Badger]

Mutual Funds. Roth IRA. I'm guessing you're fairly young, so be aggressive when you setup your plan.

*By aggresive, I mean more High Risk / High Reward type funds than low yield set funds, not the amount of money you put in.*

Most importantly, talk to a professional. Most banks have someone dedicated to this.

 

[The Guard]

Do you think it's enough to go the bank route, or should I seek out an actual investment firm at this point?

 

[Badger]

If you're just starting without a lot of capital, go the bank route. If you have capital (25k+) then an investment firm may be a good idea.

 

[Manic]

Oooh. I was thinking of investing my stimulus money (stimulate that, government!), but I had no idea where to turn. I guess I can check out my bank. Get some of that long-term money, learn to teach my kids, ect.

 

[PemLam]

Do you think it's enough to go the bank route, or should I seek out an actual investment firm at this point?

If you're just starting without a lot of capital, go the bank route. If you have capital (25k+) then an investment firm may be a good idea.

The majority of banks will guide you towards funds that provide them a substantial kickback, regardless of the return they provide; and they often kick in fees of their own.

The amount of capital you have to invest is almost irrelevant when dealing with the larger brokerage houses (Fidelity, Vanguard, ING, etc.), as they have funds established for virutally every income level and provide many with little or no money down. Fidelity, who I've been with for over 15 years provided free financial advice when my wife and I first approached them and they continue to do so today.

It's definitely paid off...oh, and Badger is absolutely right about being aggressive with your money.

 

[Mee]

Stock market!


PM DOG LIPS with all your info, he'll hook you up with Hype stock.

 

[jaguarr]

The majority of banks will guide you towards funds that provide them a substantial kickback, regardless of the return they provide; and they often kick in fees of their own.

The amount of capital you have to invest is almost irrelevant when dealing with the larger brokerage houses (Fidelity, Vanguard, ING, etc.), as they have funds established for virutally every income level and provide many with little or no money down. Fidelity, who I've been with for over 15 years provided free financial advice when my wife and I first approached them and they continue to do so today.

It's definitely paid off...oh, and Badger is absolutely right about being aggressive with your money.

Yep. This is good advice. An investment pro will work wonders for you. I've been with Fidelity for well over 10 years with my 401k and they've done well by me. I also have an investment adviser that's affiliated with ING and he's been invaluable in helping my wife and I diversify our portfolio. Diversification is key, so be sure you're asking about how to maximize the various investment buckets available to you to spread your risk and increase your returns.

jag

 

[Ahura Mazda]

My biggest advice to you is heed the words of Jag and funeman and do not expect better tips on here.

Just realise the higher returns you seek will be directly correlated with the risk which you are willing to take.

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

pm Ahura Mazda...

 

[jaguarr]

Everyone PM Ahura Mazda for FREE investment guidance!!!!!!!

jag

 

[Ahura Mazda]

Hell no.....I get paid for what I do and it is discretionary

 

[jaguarr]

You need to be more of a team player, AM.

jag

 

[wiegeabo]

Ahura's advice:
"Buy low, sell high. Guaranteed money maker."


Seriously, from my experience, stay away from mutual funds. The fees usually kill you. But look into diversification funds like the 401k jag mentioned. My 401k is aggressive and heavily invested in stock funds, which is risky, but they're diversified. I have some bonds, and when the housing market starts picking back up, I'll probably shift some money into real estate or REIT's.

With the economy so low, it's probably a great time to start investing because everything is so cheap. And when it finally starts going up again, you could make a lot of money.

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

The funny thing is that i'd rather PM Ahura about money advice rather than going to the bank.

Yet for all I know, he could be a 12 year old girl or worse, A Nigerian slowly setting up his trap for me....

 

[jaguarr]

The funny thing is that i'd rather PM Ahura about money advice rather than going to the bank.

Yet for all I know, he could be a 12 year old girl or worse, A Nigerian slowly setting up his trap for me....

He's Persian and French, so it's okay.

jag

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

I work with a persian dude, let's just say........he's dodgy.....

 

[Ahura Mazda]

Ahura's advice:
"Buy low, sell high. Guaranteed money maker."


Seriously, from my experience, stay away from mutual funds. The fees usually kill you. But look into diversification funds like the 401k jag mentioned. My 401k is aggressive and heavily invested in stock funds, which is risky, but they're diversified. I have some bonds, and when the housing market starts picking back up, I'll probably shift some money into real estate or REIT's.

With the economy so low, it's probably a great time to start investing because everything is so cheap. And when it finally starts going up again, you could make a lot of money.

If you are interested in real estate be careful on the location and do not consider investing before at least Q4. We right now are holding back generating income with the assets we own while keeping our liquidities handy for the end of the year.

Wieg my advice is not advice because I do not think this is the place for it. You can only give very generalised information in this forum and generalised information rarely leads to good specific investments. That is for professionals who have a big picture of what the client wants, and what his risk profile is.

 

[Ahura Mazda]

I work with a persian dude, let's just say........he's dodgy.....

Well Iran is a very big country and we are/were not all alike . Then again it does not matter who I am given we will probably never ever have a contractual relationship.

What you said does remind me of the time I was getting emails asking me for a small favor in which I would be compensated. For a time, I potentially made $100 million until I trashed the mail and had it blocked .

 

[wiegeabo]

If you are interested in real estate be careful on the location and do not consider investing before at least Q4. We right now are holding back generating income with the assets we own while keeping our liquidities handy for the end of the year.

Wieg my advice is not advice because I do not think this is the place for it. You can only give very generalised information in this forum and generalised information rarely leads to good specific investments. That is for professionals who have a big picture of what the client wants, and what his risk profile is.

Other than buying a house soon because the prices are so damn good, I'm not going to touch real estate this year. While we may be getting near the bottom, I think it's still got a bit to drop. And I'm fine with not getting in at the bottom as long as I'm near it.

 

[Ahura Mazda]

Other than buying a house soon because the prices are so damn good, I'm not going to touch real estate this year. While we may be getting near the bottom, I think it's still got a bit to drop. And I'm fine with not getting in at the bottom as long as I'm near it.

We believe the bottom will not be hit until the end of the year and that we are looking for 12-24 months of down time. the bad news is not over for there are certain elements that have not been priced yet. One thing to note is we look at large investments and not individual houses.

The key thing is location and the ability to weather a storm.

A god real estate investment can generate you an IRR above 10% (it can even be above 50% but that is rare) but it is not as profitable as equites which of course are riskier.

 

[Man-Thing]

pretty good advice here. Also if your company does a match on your 401k, you should do it up to that amount. I wouldn't put any in after that, but would go the route of an Roth IRA 1st and foremost.

Also, gold but be leary of it. Watch it for about a year. I expect it to drop and rather abruptly in 12 months or so. Don't invest in any petro co. either. All the top exec's are getting ready to trade in their comodities.

 

[jaguarr]

Fund matching on the 401k is a very good point, Man-Thing. I've maximized that as well, but don't go beyond what my company matches. Between my 401k and the Roth IRA, plus some stocks and bonds and a death benefit mutual fund that will more than cover my funeral expenses, we're doing pretty well. I plan to drop another $5-10k into some other type of investment container once we sell our old home, depending on what I get out of it (had to drop the price for the second time, yesterday, as the market is just killing everyone) and definitely put at least $5k into an investment container for the kid's college fund but I haven't decided on which one to go after (there are quite a few). Need to talk to my finance guy about that, still.

jag

 

[tzarinna]

I keep meaning to call Fidelity, I need to diversify.....a little more.

 

[The Guard]

I do have a 401 K, but that's all I have. I'll have to look into other options. Thanks for the advice.