I'm looking to invest about $40K any advice?

I came into some money recently and I'm looking to invest about 40K. I'm 17 years old and will be using at least some for college but I want to get some return on the money before then and with any left over. Right now it's in a joint account with my grandmother (now deceased) and myself. It's a CD only getting 2.7% interest. What would you recommend?I'm looking to invest about $40K any advice?
This depends on your tolerance for risk. While you're young you have the ability to take risk, however you say that you will be using some of it for college. Whatever you absolutely need for college you should keep in a low risk account.





The others seem to be recommending a purchase of real estate. However, at your age I don't know if that's a wise decision. If you're thinking of buying a home (getting a loan for the balance and paying part of it as a down payment), you should know that since you have no credit history you'll get a fairly bad rate on the loan. Even if you rent out a home, you'd have to keep a fairly big reserve in case the home ended up being vacant for a while. This ties up your money into a not very liquid investment, and you'll need it in a year or two for college.





Although possibly the best return on your money in the long run would be a well diversified portfolio of about 20 stocks, at 17 I don't think you have the expertise quite yet to do something like that.





I recommend a good money market account, or a mutual fund. A savings account like www.citibank.com will give you a little over 5% interest, and is risk free as it is insured by the government.





I would say the goal here is to protect your money for college, earn a little interest (you could earn $2000/year with that much), and when you're properly educated/experienced in/after college you can take the money and make a more serious investment in either stocks or real estate.I'm looking to invest about $40K any advice?
Hi John,


Your best investment with the highest return right now (around 12%intrest) is fast loans on short term real estate. The best way is to go to a good mortgage broker. Never invest on any loan on anything less then a first or second mortgage where there is anough collateral in the property to more then cover your loan. You must file income tax on any money gained. Good luck
You may want to look into purchasing property now that real estate is so low in the US, it will rise again and if you get it now at a low price it will not only increase in value it will be a place to live and a good investment.





You will need to wait until your no longer a minor but it's a good investment so for now put it in blue chip stock or a retirement program that isn't locked. Then if the real estate market is still low when your 18 purchase property.





You can't do it now because your prohibited from signing a legal contract because you can't be held to it.
As I have answered before to others, seeking investment advice online is fine if you understand that true investment professionals cannot give you any advice online without violating the ';know your customer rule'; with the SEC or FINRA(formally NASD). i am an investment professional who is licensed by the FINRA to give advice and receive compensation for that advice. Please believe me when I say that the best sounding advice may not be the best advice for YOU. this is the key...YOU. YOU are who you are, and YOUR situation is what makes advice accurate. If you want advice, please email me, I promise to you that my advice and/or help will be of no charge to you. there is NO catch. I am willing to help you, because I do not want to see anyone get bad advice .
You can do better than 2.7%. You could probably double your return right away by researching a higher yielding savings account. I have seen savings accounts in the 4.5% range FDIC insured.





If you want to take on some risk, start dabbling with ETFs. They are diversified and offer superior cost advantages to mutual funds. Pick a range of ETFs, like the S%26amp;P 500, international, small cap, mid cap, etc. I would stay away from exotic funds (short funds, sector funds, etc) until you have more experience picking investments.





Yahoo finance is a good resource to research investments.





Good luck.
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Contact a reputable broker, like Wachovia, and invest in mutual funds. These are funds that a great number of people invest in, an assortment of stocks that are selected for various growth potentials. When you turn 18, you should start to invest in a Roth IRA. You can put in $4000 per year toward your retirement. By time you are retirement age, it will appreciate into millions.





A good website to look at is ClarkHoward, a radio financial show. He has all sorts of info regarding starting an investment plan. Another site is MotleyFool, where they explain alot of this stuff.





And do research. Go to the library, or look online, about terms you'll find in articles about stocks and investing.
Since you will need some of the money very shortly for your education I would advise investing that amount in a Short Term High Yield Bond Mutual Fund. Check various funds with Moringstar for the ratings of each fund.


At your age, I would suggest investing the remainder in some type of Stock Index Fund. Depending on which index the fund follows, the net asset value of the shares will rise or fall in line with the index as a whole. It may not be the most aggresive way to invest, but you will sleep much better each night not having as many worries about your money.
Hi John!


2.7% interest is really too low.


I'm not a financial guru, but I am getting 40%-50% annual interest.


I can help you to invest your money in a way that best suits your needs.


E-mail me more information and I'll give you advice.





Good luck!


Lucky AL
This sounds like short term money to me if you are planning on attending college right now. Short term money is a gamble in the stock market - it might go down. But you can certainly get a CD or online savings account for more than 2.7% - shop around. If you feel that is too conservative consider a 50-50 split - $20k in a CD and $20k in an index fund.
Definitely Real Estate. Get professional advice in your city. Not from real estate agent but from professional real estate investor who already has a track record in your town.