should i buy mutual funds, stocks, or a rental property?
970094
The best returns come with the higher risk.   Mutual funds are usually poorer returns than you get from picking the rights stocks because someone is taking a portion of your profits to supposedly reduce your risk.  You pay for returns in risk to your investment (for stocks etc) or in frustration cost (rentals,  owning your own store etc).  \n\nRental property is my preference,  as long as your careful and check things out well (ie actually checking for places to rent to confirm comparable rental rates etc).  Over the long term it's one of the best lower risk investments you can get, but it does take your time and effort.
13054
When you invest it's always best to use the maximum amout of leverage to obtain the maximum return. Investment debt (as long as your tenants are paying for it) is good debt. \n\nExample: You buy a $100,000 home with $50,000 down and the property goes up in value by 10% in one year. Your ROI (return on investment) is 20%\n\nYou buy the same $100,000 home with $10,000 down and the property goes up in value by 10% in one year. Your ROI is 100%
964298
you'll need a brokerage,,,,fidelity is my preference..then do some homework. why are you investing, how much can you invest, and how much risk can you tolerate......educate yourself before making decisions, or you'll end up paying for services or products you may not want or need
58210
I own a fourplex and a house.  I love receiving rent check but you also have to keep in mind you will be the landlord if you don't use property management.  It's also depends on if you really need the money from selling your home.  You could sell it and invest or you could keep it and collect rent for 15 years and the sell it.  By doing that you have made money on the rent "maybe" and the house may be worth more by time you sell it.  Or my favorite, you could keep it and rent it out forever and use it as a retirement check so to speak and when it falls down just use the insurance money to rebuild. ;)
1111705
If you want a safe fund with high returns, try T Rowe Price's REIT Real estate fund TRREX. That's where I would go if I had some extra cash. Or a good solid Value fund like Vanguard Windsor II VWNFX.
502652
E Trade is good, but you will have to pay every time you buy/sell a stock. Why not get a no load mutual fund invested in a Roth IRA (minimal openeing balance) at Vanguard or Fidelity. You are a great age to start an IRA.
941555
Seriously, where to put your money depends very much first on how much money you have in the first place and then what kind of investment objective you have.\n\nIf you have a very large fund and your objective is stability and protection without regards to short term cashflow issues, you may want to keep your money in government bonds and Floating Rate Bonds. A good mix of these will allow you to hedge against interest rate risk involved in government bonds and give you the stability of bonds.\n\nIf you have a very large fund and your objective is stability and protection but you also need monthly or daily cashflow for your livelihood, then perhaps it is better to keep your money in high end real estate in mature areas, earning a relatively lower annual growth but with more stability. That being done, you should rent the place out in order to generate your monthly cashflows.\n\nIf you have a small fund and your objective is stability and protection with no monthly cashflow need, then you simply have to compare which bank gives you the best return on their fixed deposit an park it there.\n\nIf you have a small fund and your objective is stability and protection with cashflow need, then you probably might want to consider to buy a small rental unit for rental income or learn to do covered calls on the local index.\n\nInterest rates fluctuate all the time. The interest that you see displayed on the board today can change by next month. So, comparing interest rates on saving accounts is by no means certain what you will get in the long term.\n\nThere are a lot of avenues and ways to keep and grow money and if you are looking only at banks and saving accounts, then perhaps it is time you start to do more reading and research on the area of finance. It is a wild wild finance world out there and there is no end to the new products and investment avenues that are being created daily. Depending on your personal financial situation and your personal investment objective, you need to be able to figure out what works for you and if you are unable to do that, prehaps it is time to engage a personal investment or finance adviser. \n\nJust remember one thing, there is no such thing as "The One Perfect Way To Keep And Grow Money". Everything comes with a catch. Higher returns will come with a longer tie down period putting that money out of use for the short term and is frequently, but not always, more risky. Lower returns are frequently more stable and safer but does it mean your personal retirement needs by the time you need that money?\n\nMoney is a complex issue for the uninitiated but a pressing one. And that is exactly why it is so hard to make the right decision. Making the right decision takes the right knowledge and the right knowledge these days only comes with more reading and research. \n\nOne fact remains true despite all these talk, and that is, there is no safer way to grow money, keep it safe and fight inflation than taking personal charge of your own money instead of leaving it in the hands of any external agencies. Start learning today....\n\n\nHope these helps.\n\nP.S There may be people who hates paypal for some reason but that does not mean that it is a hell full of devils. I have worked with Paypal and grown my business with Paypal for the past 3 years and have found them to be extremely reliable.\n\n\n\n\nhttp://www.mastersoequity.com \n\n\n\n\n\n.
577918
BUYING IS ALWAYS BETTER!  People that rent are making landlords rich, and I thank my tenants for that.  If you were to buy a condo in an area of good appreciation, you have equity in the home whether you are ready to settle down or not.  You are putting money into your own walls as opposed to a landlords pocket, whose mortgage YOU pay when you rent.  I know people that are 20 years old buying real estate because they have educated themselves on this subject.  There are many tools out there for first time home buyers with little or no money to put down.  Research buying or put someone Else's' kids through college.
185751
3 years or less I would have to say a CD or ING Direct.  That is not enough time for a mutual fund.
708117
Great that you are planning such a wise investment path. I started exactly the same way many years ago. And I'm doing quite well now. My advise to you is go ahead and buy that duplex building. But rent both sides out instead of living in one side. Find urself a cheaper bachelor's apartment to live in. Likely you can get more rent from one of ur duplex than it cost you to rent a bachelor's. You will make more money each month because of the difference. \nYou may say that you only make $30,000 a yr.. but don't forget that when you go to the bank with a proposition to buy and rent the entire building out.. ur yearly income as viewed by the bank is now much more coz they will factor in ur potential income from the duplexes. This allows u a greater debt/expense ratio. and allows you to buy more. \nThere are other good reasons too for not being too quick to move into one side..  income tax for example, because u are not living in the building.. the entire interest on the mortgage becomes an investment expense. Also, it's likely that where you live.. there are better tax advantages to showing u are also a renter. \nIn time, as you buy more and more buildings.. you will be able to choose a house of ur own. But for now, make the most of "all" ur money, live below ur means.. and invest invest invest. \nImportant concepts to understand, balance and use to their most potential are; Ur networth, total assets, debt service ratio and income (both present and potential) debt service ratio is usually the most common limiting factor. ( and keep a watchful eye on interest rates) and know ur local realestate trends and be ur own best forcaster of future trends. As they say, "buy low, sell high"\nCoz in the end, most of ur money will be made on capital gain rather than rental income. ( rental income simlpy facilitates debt expense requirements from lenders )\nChoose a good banking agent.\nAs a realestate investor, ur bank becomes ur greatest partner. Choose an agent that has confidence in you, is knoledgable about realestate and is not afraid to stick his/ her neck out for you.\nBest of luck to you.
1154873
Do you live in a community property state? That makes a huge difference. I believe 401Ks are safe, but you ought to check in your state.
619663
I think it is not a good idea to buy stock in a single company.  Investing in many companies through mutual funds is less risky.\n\nAsset allocation is the most important investment decision you will make.  How you divide your investments among stocks, bonds, and cash (money markets, etc.) will determine most of the returns you receive.  So long as you maintain a mix of investments, the particular stocks, bonds, and cash instruments in which you invest are of secondary importance.\n\nIf it will be more than 5 to 10 years until you use the money, you ought to have very high risk investments; 80% stocks and 20% bonds is appropriate.  If you are within 5 years (10 years if you are very risk-averse) of using your money, gradually switch from 80-20 to 60% stocks, 20% bonds, and 20% cash.  So, when you begin to draw down your investments, such as at the beginning of retirement, you should be at the 60-20-20 allocation.  Gradually change to 10-80-10 within 10 years.  One-fourth of your stocks should be international funds, so long as you have enough in stocks to maintain the minimum balance required for an international fund.\n\nTo summarize:\nMore than 5 or 10 years from using money: 80% stocks, 20% bonds.\nAt 5 or 10 years away, gradually change to: 60% stocks, 20% bonds, 20% cash.\nAs you begin drawing down (early retirement): 60-20-20.\nOver ten years of retirement gradually change to: 10-80-10.\n\nI'm a big believer in index funds.  A mix of index funds beats 3/4 of managed mutual funds.  I think it is really advisable to read up on the "couch potato portfolio" and the "coffee house portfolio."  Scott Burns discusses these at his web site (free registration).  You can search Google.  They are simple mixes of index funds that only require rebalancing once a year.\n\nRead "Bogle on Mutual Funds."  It shows why index fund investing is the way to go.
218100
Buying stock directly from a company allows you to (potentially) avoid transaction fees.  a mutual fund provides you diversification and professional management for a fee.  These are two different beasts.  If you feel strongly about a particular stock then you should buy it, otherwise, if you have a more long term investment strategy and seek diversification then a mutual fund provides more benefit.  Also, don't forget that buying from the company directly can delay your ability to sell the stock as the company is not a market maker (like a brokerage) and you'll have to obtain the certificate, transfer it to a brokerage account, then sell it.  Not usually worth the hassel for the reduction in fees to deal with companies on an individual basis.
820673
Don't buy mutual funds for the long run. They're not good investments. The problem is the fees that are involved. A mutual fund is a pool of money from a number of investors which is then invested and managed by a fund manager and usually his/her employees. This inherently means you get lower returns than if you bought stocks.\n\nThe reason is, the fund manager and employees all have to get paid, which cuts into your earnings. This makes them less attractive, so they often pay advisers to recommend them. This further cuts into your earnings. As a result, stocks are a much smarter option. The IRA isn't a bad idea, and there are different kinds of IRAs you can invest in.
164477
As you have realised, your portfolio is very heavy on property.\n\nOne of the fundamentals of investment risk management is to diversify. When you are diversified when one investment type experiences a decline another might go up. \n\nIf you are carrying no debt on your 2 properties you are actually in a good position but might need to move things around. Are all of your properties currently rented? What is happening to the income from that?\n\nYou may want to consider buying some shares as an additional investment. They will provide you with a semi regular income and can be sold very quickly and in small parcels, unlike property. \n\nYou'll obviously need some money to purchase shares. Would you consider selling one of the units in your complex for this purpose? Or taking a loan against the units? \n\nAnother investment category it sounds like you should be strongly thinking of is cash. You should have a "rainy day" account that could keep you going for at least a couple of months.\n\nI would suggest you talk with a financial planner. Shop around for a decent one and understand what services they offer and how they get paid e.g. are they going to just flog product from one place. \n\nSounds like selling the unit block and converting the proceeds to a smaller block or less units and shares and cash may be a good idea.\n\nI am not an expert and don't know anything about your situation so it's hard to comment
555315
"None of the above."\n\nThe best real estate to invest is in your own country, particularly if you live in the US. \n\nThe cost of ANY legal action between countries is way too high and 'predictability' is a function of your resources.\n\nIf you're looking for "return on investment", stay close to home. If you're looking for and investment that also doubles as a vacation spot, then focus on where you would want to spend your time. Either way, you'll do fine.\n\nGood investments exist everywhere, you just need the resources to identify them!\n\nGood luck!\n\nTrevor
661299
Buy a diversified series of HIGH QUALITY, LOW EXPENSE mutual funds. One good piece of advice is that especially when just starting out, owning individual stocks is just way too risky. In many cases, it's more akin to gambling than investing. So go with mutual funds, which are much more diversified, and therefore spread the risk among many, many more holdings. The key, of course, is buying quality. So make sure you hit ALL the asset classes, like Large cap stocks, small/mid cap stocks, international stocks, emerging markets stocks, government debt, corporate debt, hi-yield debt, foreign debt, emerging markets debt, real estate, commodities, and precious metals. That's 12 categories right there, so with $1200, you're talking about $100 each. This is called asset allocation, and it's a step beyond simple "diversification", which most idiots think is buying a hardware tech stock AND a software tech stock.\n\nAdd systematically on a monthly basis. That means make sure you put the same amount of money in every month, no matter what. Soon you won't even care what any of the markets are doing. They're up? Great! Some of my investments are worth more. They're down? Great! Now I'm buying quality investments at an "on sale" price.\n\nThen sit back and re-balance each year, back to your original percentages. Again, this is called asset allocation. It's is very important, perhaps the most important thing you can do with your money. The thinking being, what's BEEN hot is more than likely not going to STAY hot. All markets are cyclical. There's hundreds of years of data to back this up. Yet some people still think they can ride the next hot wave. They usually wind up begging on the street for beer money.\n\nNow, this sort of portfolio should average 8-12% per year, so just split the difference and say 10% on average. Will it do 10% EVERY year? Of course not. I'd be surprised if it EVER did EXACTLY 10%. That's an annual average. With that average, your money should double roughly every 7 years.\nSo, if you're starting with $1200 or so like I said in my example, then in 7 years , even if you added no more money, you should have about $2,400\nin 14 years you should have about $4,800\nin 21 years you should have about $9,600\nin 28 years you should have about $19,200\nin 35 years you should have about $38,400\nin 42 years you should have about $76,800\nin 49 years you should have about $153,600\nin 56 years you should have about $307,200\nin 63 years you should have about $614,400\nin 70 years you should have about $1,228,800!\n\nOf course, if you keep adding money in that $100 a month, you'll become a millionaire MUCH sooner. The key is discipline, and sticking in when markets are up OR down. Don't try to time the market--you'll NEVER get it right.\n\nBy the way, here's a handy formula:\n\n$100/month x 12% x 20 years = $100,000.\n\nSo if you need $300,000 in 20 years and have no idea how to get it, just save $300 a month and you're there. If you don't get 12%, you'll wind up with less naturally. But IF you still wind up with $250,000, I'd call that one hell of a failure.\n\nOh, and if you qualify on income limits (generally, if you're a single filer and make under $90,000/yr), and do this all in a Roth IRA? Then every penny will be 100% TAX-FREE. That's a deal that's too good to pass up. That's why I tell anyone who's under 30--if you make under $90,000, and therefore qualify to do a Roth, you'd be a fool not to. Just having the power of youth (and therefore time) on your side is such an advantage, to squander it would be such a waste!\n\nHope this helps!\n--J.