Need investment/financial advice

woohoo

OP,

Having worked in the investment business for several years, my first advice for you would be...do not listen to everything you hear and set up a meeting with a professional.  I cannot tell you how many times a client has come in and wanted to buy the "hot stock" that a co-worker recommends, I always recommend against this and I always get thanked later. 

Like anything else, you will here a lot of different advice in regards to investments and it is sometimes hard to differeniate one from the other.  Your best option would be to meet with a professional who understands your needs and can recommend something for you, not just something general (it is against securities laws to give investment advice over the internet).

You will hear the term diversification a lot and people will recommend financials, energy, consumer staples, etc.  Diversification is a lot more than that; it could mean diversfiying your investments from retirement accounts (tax free), investment accounts (taxable), real estate holdings, gold/minerals, etc.  Also, you can diversify within an industry, for example - energy - you can have companies that sell gas retail to consumers; companies that drill for the oil; companies that refine the oil into gas; companies that explore for oil, etc. 

It sounds like you are ahead of the curve at your age and you should speak with someone to develop a strategy for your future.

Have a look into ETFs (exchange traded funds) also, they are similar to mutual funds and have lower expenses (you will be paying around 2% per year in a mutual fund depending on the share class (A, B, C)).  Also be careful of someone trying to sell you an annuity...they can be suitable in some cases but many people try to push (sell) them to benefit themselves (high commissions and low follow up work).

Good luck!

ROTH IRA, and put in the maximun contribution EVERY YEAR!!!

Folks are right.  The first thing you should do EVERY year is invest the max into a roth IRA (there are income restrictions, but you need to be over 6 figures to be affected).  The money you earn on that is NOT taxable.....it's ALL yours when you are eligible to withdrawl it.  That's as good a deal as it gets. 

Just an example.  If you are 30, you may have 35-40 years to invest in a roth.  That's $175K or so just in PRINCIPLE.  Then let's say it doubles every 8-10 years.  Well, you get the idea.  It's big time. 

look into the vanguard funds...very low expenses. You are getting in at about 28% below the market highs.......a good situation for you.

Thanks for all the awesome advice guys!   

Can anyone explain Roth IRAs a little bit? I know you can put 5k a year into it. Are you making interest off this money, or do you just use the money in your roth to invest in stocks/mutual funds?

Roth IRA - you pay tax on this money now and when you withdrawal it (eligible after 59 1/2 - certain requirements will allow you to withdrawal sooner without penalty) it is tax free.  You can invest this in individual stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etfs, etc.  You can put up to $5k per year away, more if your over 50.

Standard IRA - you get a tax deduction right away for any money you put away, but you have to pay taxes when you withdraw these funds.

Generally speaking, if you are in a low tax bracket now, you are better off having a roth IRA and paying low taxes on this money now, rather than waiting for the uncertainty of the tax rates in the future. 

Note: if you intend to use this money to buy a house, car, etc in the future, then you do not want to put it into a retirement account, as there are stiff financial penalties for withdrawing these funds prior to retirement (59.5).

Check out the Investments Forum?

Money.com

WSJ.com

SmartMoney.com

Life is a gamble. Win it.

Get a broker and when the 10 yr note futures get to 2.50 percent start selling bonds start with a 10 lot..you ll make 3,150 every 10 ticks the bonds go in your favor, there is no liquidity in the market so i would wait until after labor day when all the europeans get back from the south of france and the rich person get home from there vacations spots, employment numbers should get better in sept and october, cause its all rigged and the government will want to show better numbers with elections coming up in novembers..just hold on to your futures until they hit about 3.50 percent witch should happen in early october..your profit will be around 65,000 just send me an email thanking me, best of luck...

I always invest when Fruit Of The Loom is down

And Wang is up.............

NLY pays a very nice 15-16% dividend, and it's said to be one of the safest dividends in the stock market, many pro's invested in it.

I'd be very careful going to professionals, they are know to guide you to investments that earn them high commisions and your the one paying it, you don't need to pay loads to invest.