Need some investment help

[Hokie Fan]

I have about 40,000 in a cash account and want something safe that I dont need to watch every day and sweat
I would like to turn some profit though

Or should I just take it and pay down my morgage

Thanks guys

 

[dawgball]

What is the APR on your mortgage.

If it is above 7%, you may be better off paying that down because that is automatic 7% per year investment vehicle. And if you are wanting something that you don't want to look at or think about, then this is a good route.

Any other debt? Credit Cards, etc? Pay those off.

Also, you may want to consider depositing into a ROTH IRA and just getting into some higher performing mutual funds/ETFs with the first portion.

 

[redsfann]

I'd pay off any debt you may have, such as a car loan, home equity line of credit, etc, etc.
If you are thinking long term with this money, then some ETFs would be your best bet, but you are a bit vague with the time frame here.
I don't see the market as a whole doing anything but going sideways for quite a while. Maybe others have a different take on the market's direction, but since I'm at a minumum 15 years before retirement(I'm 42 this year) a sideways market doesn't bother me in the least.
If I could give you a stock that would 'show some profit' as you put it, I'd drop a few dollars on it as well.
For a sure gain on your money right now, pay down your mortgage. If you are disciplined enough to then NOT take out some of that equity down the road, just imagine how much money you are saving in the long term by not having to pay all that additional interest on your mortgage.

 

[Red & Black]

Though real estate has done well lately, a non traded REIT is a good safe bet. Usually have to stay in one from 7-15 years. They pay anywhere from 4-6% and they have some appreciation. If you have the time frame, this should suit your needs.

 

[selkirk]

Hokie Fan there is often good advice found in this forum, and the responses above are well thought out.

believe there is no investment that you can make and forget about, it takes research not much to pick out a fund or stocks.

with that amount of money would mainly be looking at Mutual funds and maybe a stock or two. to begin the portfolio. once you have did some research and selected some funds or etf it is very easy to track them and not all that time consuming.

for instance with on click (one screen) tracks all of my funds, you should check on them at least weekly. does not take more than a few minutes.

often it is best to destroy debt and then build up a portfolio slowly.

rule is never dollar cost average on a losing investment(fund or stock).

also diverisfy your holdings (ie: not all tech, or all energy, ect.) never know what sector is going to hell.

thanks
selkirk

 

[Hokie Fan]

you guys have some great ideas
Im just not smart on this stuff, whats a eft or riet?
My mortgageos under 5 percent
I have no car payments or credit card dbt (I dont like owing money)
I dont even know what to tell the fidelity guy to put my money in
So believe me you comments are well appreciated

 

[s_dooley24]

morningstar.com is a great site for both beg and adv investors it will give you alot of good info.

ETF= exchange traded fund
REIT=real estate investment trust

go to morningstar.com and just read a bit

 

[s_dooley24]

If you have a Fidelity account (as do I) look at Fidelity's 4 and 5 star funds (as you will not have to pay commision to trade these since you're a Fidelity account holder) on Morningstar and choose from those. It will make your choices alot easier by narrowing down to a manageable list

 

[s_dooley24]

I hold these three Mutual Funds from Fidelity in my regular brokerage account

FCNTX FIDELITY CONTRAFUND
FDVLX FIDELITY VALUE
FIGRX FIDELITY INT'L DISCOVERY




I hold these 4 ETFs in my Roth IRA

DVY ISHARES TR DOW JONES SELECT DIVID INDEX FD
ILF ISHARES TR S&P LATIN AMER 40 INDEX FD
IWN ISHARES TR RUSSELL 2000 VALUE INDEX FD
IWP ISHARES TR RUSSELL MIDCAP GROWTH INDEX FD


And I hold these Fidelity funds in my company sponsored 401k. The % is the amount I have in each. It should add up to around 85% or so as the other 15% of my 401k is in company stock b/c that is how they match my contributions

6.62% FID CONTRAFUND

6.55% FID EXP & MULTINATL

6.17% FID MID CAP STOCK

5.94% FID SM CAP INDEPEND

5.94% FID CAP APPRECIATION

5.92% FID VALUE

5.92% SPTN EXTND MKT INDEX

5.16% FID DIVERSIFIED INTL

4.43% FID SOUTHEAST ASIA

4.40% FID CANADA

4.15% FID EQUITY INCOME

4.13% FID DISCIPLINED EQTY

4.07% FID GROWTH & INCOME

3.75% FID LATIN AMERICA

3.32% FID BALANCED

3.29% FID PURITAN

2.64% FID REAL ESTATE INVS

2.51% FID NEW MARKETS INC



When looking at ETFs or mutual funds make sure you pay close attention to the expense ratio as this is what will eat away at your returns in both the short and long term


If you're looking to hold stocks I would recommend that you plan to hold long term...which i consider around the 5-10 yr range. Always good to look to people who are more versed in a given area of expertise then yourself, so I look to Warren Buffett

American Express Company
Ameriprise Financial, Inc
Anheuser-Busch Cos., Inc The Coca-Cola Company M&T Bank Corporation
Moody?s Corporation
PetroChina ?H? shares (or equivalents
The Procter & Gamble Company
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
The Washington Post Company
Wells Fargo & Company
White Mountains Insurance

That is the list of securities that his holding company Berkshire Hathaway hold currently. He did not directly buy Ameriprise (spin-off of the financial unit of Amex) or P&G (he owned Gillette and they were bought by P&G).

You can buy Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares for just under $3k each. Eventhough it is treated like a stock it is really is more like a mutual fund b/c he holds all these publicly traded companies (mentioned above) and also maintains revenue streams from the outright or majority owned businesses purchased over the years by BH.

Whatever you choose good luck and be patient. Excessive trading is just like paying extra juice and that is never a good thing.