I have about 1/4 of a million dollars. I am 23. What should I invest and what would be my expected return?

Question

I have about 1/4 of a million dollars. I am 23. What should I invest and what would be my expected return?

Answer 1

Contact a fee-only financial planner and get a few hours of advice.  With that kind of money it would be worth it.

Answer 2

You are 23 and have .25 mil?  You don't need our advice.  

Answer 3

you could invest by buying percentages of small businesses ie. I am looking for an investor at the moment and it is low risk.  

Answer 4

Depends on your goals.  If this is for retirement the answer will be quite different than if you want to live on the in earnings, or if you want to make a return for no specific reason.

Answer 5

If you are saving for retirement, you should definitely consider opening a Roth IRA account.  Roth IRA accounts allow you to save for retirement without having your investments taxed.  I currently use Firstrade ( http://www.firstrade.com/ ).  They offer no-fee IRAs so you don't have to worry about paying setup, maintenance, inactivity, or termination fees.  Their commission rates offered at Firstrade are also lower than those at big name brokers such as Etrade, Scottrade, TD Ameritrade, and Schwab.  I've been using Firstrade for years now and have encountered no problems at all.  They have excellent customer service and an easy-to-use website that is perfect for beginners.  I would definitely recommend you to check them out.

As for what to invest in, it depends on what amount of risk you are willing to take.  If you are interested in the possibility of high returns you could look into stocks.  However, stocks tend to carry higher risk than other investment choices.  If you want a more conservative option, you could look into mutual funds.  They are diversified, thereby carrying less risk than stocks.  They are also professionally managed so you don't have to worry about your lack of expertise or experience in choosing the right stocks or bonds.  There are many great books and online tutorials out there.  My personal favorite web resource is Investopedia ( http://www.investopedia.com/ ).  It's a great website to check out if you want to learn more about stocks, mutual funds, or investing in general.