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Not a bad fund, but I don't think most people can handle the volatility of an all stock portfolio.
I prefer balanced funds such as Vanguard Wellington (VWENX). The fees are only a tad higher than an index fund. It has returns close to or better than VTSAX with less volatility.
To the OP. Do you have any retirement fund at all? I suggest using SOME of that money towards starting one if not. That money will grow and compound. It will be tied up and you cannot withdraw that money until you are 60 or older without fees so it is NOT meant to be withdrawn. Does your employer offer 401k matching at all?
If you absolutely need all of that money to spend then do not go the route above. I would recommend you supply us with a general idea of how much money you can keep tied up in investments and how much you need for emergencies.
First all congratulations on being able to save that much and even more so for helping out your mother.
Thats great.
My advice is since you are debt free do you have an emergency fund, if not i would suggest starting one. Some say 3 to 12 months of expenses but it also depends on if you lost ur job how quick you could get another.
As far as investing you are looking for dividend paying stocks so you can use that as an additional source of income. Usually reits have the highest but risky cause it is real estate. Some energy companys pay well too.
Resources for learning to invest. A lot of great ones have been posted so far. There also investopedia, get rich slowly. Also go to the library and check out a few basic books on investing
Location: Prescott Valley,az summer/east valley Az winter
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger
Not a bad fund, but I don't think most people can handle the volatility of an all stock portfolio.
I prefer balanced funds such as Vanguard Wellington (VWENX). The fees are only a tad higher than an index fund. It has returns close to or better than VTSAX with less volatility.
Personnally I find I do much better in individual stocks than in funds~~the funds bleed a couple % off the top for managing the stock picking ~ I prefer to keep that for myself~ and the stock portfolio is doing better than any of my mutual funds and have for many years.
My girlfriend recommended her investment advisor so I gave him a call. He was lazy and said I should just put my pitiful sum into Cisco, which was $80/share at the time - but for years after that it has hovered around $20. I knew about diverification so I thanked him for his time and decided I could lose my money without paying him a commission.
So, to start with go to either Fidelity or Vanguard, both have a good reputation and chose something safe. Do you want dividends or growth? Know youself and your own needs first. Beware of someone pushing too hard into any kind of investment and only deal with reputable people. There are no get rich quick sceams and some good, and some, advice on the threads.
Personnally I find I do much better in individual stocks than in funds~~the funds bleed a couple % off the top for managing the stock picking ~ I prefer to keep that for myself~ and the stock portfolio is doing better than any of my mutual funds and have for many years.
More power to you, but you are not typical of 99% of the population. Everyone thinks they can beat the market. Few can. It takes brains, time, and the right temperament to pick stocks and do it well. Few people have the magic combination of all 3.
And funds like Vanguard Wellington has such low fees they are not worth mentioning. Even though trading costs may be a drag for the fund, I doubt the total expenses incurred by the fund (expense ratio plus trading costs) are a couple percent. I bet the fund's total costs are well below 1%.
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