I think I can do better than the basic high yield savings 1.8% for my savings. This is long term savings and 6 month living expenses are covered.

What investment options give me the highest return for the least risk. I was thinking my best option would be some sort of govt/state/municipal bonds. The wife is not too keen on taking risks with the money. Are there any other options im not thinking about?

Check Vanguard VFIDX. Currently paying 3.16%.

watching this thread. I have the same question. I really don't want bonds or a bond fund because they go down if/when interest rates rise.

Our retirement fund was moved from my 401K to an investment fund, managed by an investment group with a well-known corporation that does such things, a bit over four years ago--two years before I retired.

In that time it's managed to gain value despite the fact that, for the 2-1/2 years I've been retired we've withdraw an amount from it each month to offset the reduction in my income resulting from going from wage-earner to social security.

Our investment guys understand what our goals are, understand the investment picture, and are constantly making minute adjustments in our investments. About once a year we meet with "our guy" on that team, discuss where we are, where he sees things headed, and sometimes make more major changes.

Our portfolio is broadly diversified. The majority is in low-to-moderate risk investments. The next biggest chunk is in blue chips. A tiny amount is in what he feels to be relatively "safe" high-risk/high-yield investments. When we have a good year we move some profits into cash.

Our average earnings over the four-year period have been around 12%.

Funny investment story. (At least I think so.) During one phone conversation he asked if he could move an amount equivalent to about 2% into some really risky investments "just to play with." I looked at my wife. She shrugged. I shrugged. I told him to go ahead. Later I explained to my wife "He's making money for us. If that amuses him, I figure let him have some fun."

I’d have to ask about the larger picture. That may include 401k(or similar) options at work, IRA contributions, 529 plans for any kids, etc...

I’m not even trying to get into specifics. Of course age & risk tolerance factor in too.

Usually ‘minimal risk’ means very low yield.

If the $$ needs to be available in the near term, hard to get a higher return.

I have a money market & checking account, then longer term retirement $$ is in more aggressive accounts. Just having $$ under the IRA or 401k tax umbrella is helpful itself.

Let’s not leave out a HSA or flex spending plan to use pre-tax $$ for routine medical expenses.

Low risk but somewhat higher returns are going to be high yield savings accounts at places like Vanguard and Fidelity. Depending on your age and specific situation, being able to shield it from taxes may be just as important.
I would be cautious of anyone that brags about their recent performance showing the last few years since the market has been so strong.
Doesn't take a genius to make money in the recent market but when it turns.....

Respectfully, there is now way anyone can provide a good answer this question for you with the limited amount of info available. I would suggest finding a fee based Certified Financial Planner to review your circumstances and make recommendations.

quote:

Originally posted by sasquatch28:
Respectfully, there is now way anyone can provide a good answer this question for you with the limited amount of info available. I would suggest finding a fee based Certified Financial Planner to review your circumstances and make recommendations.

What other info is needed? This money is pure savings. It does not include any pension, 410k, 543b or IRA money.

because of the extended bull market literally everyone has had good returns for a good long while so when folks talk about their managers doing really well for them take that with a grain of salt.

from my perspective I would open an account with Vanguard or similar. You can decide how much risk you can tolerate. I would diversify your monies if you are talking about several thousand or thousands.

Educate yourself. There are tons of unbiased sources on line for information.

After a while you can figure out a strategy that fits your families needs and timelines and adjust accordingly.

good luck.

use dogs of the dow and do it yourself. lots of info on google.

Centerpoint, Walgreens and Ford all pay decent div as does Duke Energy, Wesbanco, Enbridge and several more. I like TD Ameritrade for research and buying/selling.

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
use dogs of the dow and do it yourself. lots of info on google.

Centerpoint, Walgreens and Ford all pay decent div as does Duke Energy, Wesbanco, Enbridge and several more. I like TD Ameritrade for research and buying/selling.

Here's a great article about the Dogs of the Dow.

https://www.kiplinger.com/slid...-to-watch/index.html

Like doublesharp says, there are lots of great blue chip companies that pay healthy dividend and I would consider them pretty safe. If you dig a little further, you'll find companies that regularly increase their dividends too! Compounded, you'll see very good growth.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:

quote:

Originally posted by sasquatch28:
Respectfully, there is now way anyone can provide a good answer this question for you with the limited amount of info available. I would suggest finding a fee based Certified Financial Planner to review your circumstances and make recommendations.

What other info is needed? This money is pure savings. It does not include any pension, 410k, 543b or IRA money.

In that case and because you also have 6 months living expenses covered I would put it in an index fund. Look at Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX), Fidelity Total Stock Market Index (FSTMX)
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and others and then look at their 10 year returns. The good ones should 8-10% over those 10 years.

Don't mess with individual stocks because it's too easy to get burned. Warren Buffet offered the challenge to anyone to pick their own stocks to outperform the market over a set time and you win $1,000,000. Not one of these so called professionals won the money. That made me as an amateur realize there was no way I was going to beat the market so I started choosing index funds to match or track the overall market.

If your time horizon is 5 or more years before you need it why not invest in a S&P 500 index fund.
I have a good portion of our money invested in the Fidelity index fund.
Last year it returned over 31% and over the last 10 years returned over 13% and has some of the lowest expense fees in the industry. It also has a 5 star rating from Morningstar.

The key (imho) is not to look at it every day so you don’t drive yourself crazy with the day to day fluctuation...

I have some of our money invested in a professionally managed account with Fidelity and we have regular conversations about risk/reward etc. I am currently 63 and retired and they are constantly trying to tell me I should have a decent amount of our money in bonds ....until I point our how bad most bonds have performed over the past 10 years or so. Also an important consideration is that people are living longer so if that’s you I would consider having a much longer time horizon than what our parents may have had...

sml, In your last paragraph. what happens if the market drops say 25% in the next 18 months. How would you feel at that point? I am not forecasting that to happen. But it is possible just like just about any other scenario. I am just curious.

Are you 100% invested in equities?


Thx

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
sml, In your last paragraph. what happens if the market drops say 25% in the next 18 months. How would you feel at that point? I am not forecasting that to happen. But it is possible just like just about any other scenario. I am just curious.

Are you 100% invested in equities?


Thx

The saying goes "you don't get hurt riding a rollercoaster unless you jump off".

If you're not close to retirement then leave it in an index fund. If it dropped 18 percent then that would mean the whole market would be down 18 percent. If you get out you lose 18 percent and don't have a chance to get it back since you're out.

I remember when the last crash happened and people were bailing out left and right and the market was at like 8500 and today it at almost 29000.

I don't feel like you should be pushed into equities with that chunk of your investment funds. That's your safe money. You should be leaning toward the other end, with "guaranteed" in some way instruments.

CDs of course. That would get you into the 2s at least. But I would personally be looking at municipal bonds right now. That market just had a stellar year, like 7%. Will probably be cooler in 2020, but I would still expect around 3-5%.

Maybe ask your investment advisor about a "bond ladder".

If safety is a concern, get a CD. Google "cd rates" and read through a bunch of the links that come up. They are not all the same.

2 weeks ago, using the above method, I stumbled onto and got a 3% cd for 18-months from the Charlotte Metro FCU. Dec 31 was the cutoff. The only membership requirement was that you live in one of the nearby counties.

After you have a good amount safely saved, you can start investing in the market. I suggest a Total Stock Market index fund ETF such as Vanguard VTI. You basically own almost every domestic stock. Of course, if your employer has a 401K or other tax-deferred retiremenet plan, you should invest in that first.

If you have time to read, visit bogelheads.org, the sigforum of wise investing (imo), and start with the "Start Here."

With the market at all time highs right now, I would wait for a correction before investing a huge chunk. I know, that's trying to time the market.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
watching this thread. I have the same question. I really don't want bonds or a bond fund because they go down if/when interest rates rise.

There's no such thing as risk-free and there's always a trade-off between yield and risk.
As msfzoe recommends above, Vanguard VFIDX is a reasonable place to put some intermediate money.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
watching this thread. I have the same question. I really don't want bonds or a bond fund because they go down if/when interest rates rise.

That's why I often recommend actual bonds as opposed to bond mutual funds for the more risk-conscious investor. Changing interest rates, bond prices, and yields don't affect you if you simply hold the bond to maturity. And you can still take some advantage of changing market conditions if you diversify your bonds in a "bond ladder" with staggered maturities.

quote:

Originally posted by sasquatch28:
Respectfully, there is now way anyone can provide a good answer this question for you with the limited amount of info available. I would suggest finding a fee based Certified Financial Planner to review your circumstances and make recommendations.

THIS! Find a certified financial planner to help with your investing goals. Pay nothing for a consultation. My guy gets paid based on what my total value of investments are. I don't pay for trades and get full picture of my investments. He makes more money when make more money. He even advises my wife on her employer's IRA. Couldn't ask for better and I interviewed a ton of financial advisors before I went with him.