Investment advice? What investment advice would you have for the average American?

Question

Is it better for an average middle class American to invest in cd's instead of mutual funds and stocks? The Stock Market seems so speculative and uncertain. It seems like it is for wealthy people.

Answer 1

For the average American I would say to invest in your retirement plan at work if you have one, and maximize that.  The exceptions to that would be if your employer plan is invested in variable annuities or B share mutual funds.  Then it would probably be a better idea to just contribute up to the employer match, if any, because those usually have high fees.  Then start an IRA.  And then if you have money left over after that and you can do without it for at least ten years then invest in mutual funds.  And structure all of it so that you have the same percentage in bonds as your age, and the rest in stocks.  If you cant do without the money then consider CD's

Answer 2

The stock market might look "speculative and uncertain" at this very moment, but over any long-term period, it is by far the safest, highest return investment vehicle available.

Let's say you want to retire in 30 years with a million dollars; you'll need $300,000 today to do that with CDs....with stocks you'd need $30,000...

Answer 3

Stocks and mutual funds give more returns than CD's. If you are conservative with your money, try to invest in Blue chip stocks like general electric. Or invest in mutual funds if you don't have much time to dedicate doing homework for stocks.  

Answer 4

Stocks can be very dangerous for a rookie investor.  Stick to CDs and mutual funds.  But if you really want to make money now, you should invest some money in the stock market.  Stocks offer the most return of any investment known to man if you know how to trade.  get some help here.  http://unbiasedstockanalysis.blogspot.co...

Answer 5

It appears you are new to investing and therefore I suggest you locate a licensed financial adviser. S/he will do a complete analysis of your financial status and  tolerance for risk and develop a investment plan that suits your personal goals and attitude. Check the source listed for help in how to choose a financial adviser.

Answer 6

If you are new at this, allocate 2 years' time to learning, plus enough money to last you through this learning period. As much as possible, limit your losses--meaning, if you are a long term investor, then weed out all positions that are in the red.

Learn to think for yourself. If you have to ask someone if this stock or that is a good investment, go open a virtual trading account and trade that account until you can answer that question for yourself.

Keep a journal. Write down why a position is making money, and more importantly, why a position lost you some money and what lesson you learned and what you will do better next time.

Learn the difference between investing, speculating and gambling. Many people often find themselves doing one of the above when they intend to do the other.

Always keep your position size small.

There are a lot more, which I hope you will learn by the time you reach the end of that 2-year learning period.

Good luck with your efforts.

- Jim Syyap, Managed Forex Accounts

http://jsforex.blogspot.com