What should I do with my money? $50k

[mark_1]

Not sure the appropriate place to post this, so I will start here. I do not know much about investing, but I am good at saving and need a place to put my money. I have 3 accounts which are holding cash, but not making any.

1. CMA (merrill lynch): Approx $36,000
2. Online Savings Account: $14,000
3. Local Savings Account: $4,500

I have a checking account that my paycheck deposits to and bills are paid out of. Occasionally, I'll move money into my online or local savings account.

My thought was to combine accounts 1&2, leave 3 for emergency and contribute to whatever 1&2 become. I'd like to move away from Merrill. My account is so small there, that it gets overlooked.

Fidelity offers a managed portfolio that supposedly advisors watch your money. There is a 50k minimum which I would meet.

I'm 34
Have a 401k with bi-weekly contributions and traditional IRA, but do not contribute (started by family)
Own a home.
No future plans for large purchases.

Can anyone provide some advice?

[Petunia 100]

What is the money for? Your retirement decades from now? Your retirement next year? A down payment on a house? Is this all of your investable assets, or do you also have money in tax-advantaged accounts, such as a 401k plan?

Personally, I am uninterested in having anyone manage my money for me. Successful investing boils down to a few simple truths which anyone can learn. If I did want a professional manager, I would seek out a good fee only CFP (Certified Financial Planner). I would not pay an on-going fee for assets under management.

What are the "few simple truths"?

1. Have a reasonable asset allocation plan. (Meaning how much in stocks, how much in bonds, how much in cash, etc.) "Reasonable" is going to vary from person to person, based on your own unique circumstances.

2. Diversify.

3. Watch your costs, as they compound against you.

4. Re-balance.

That's it, it is that simple.

[mark_1]

To answer your questions:

I'm 34
Have a 401k with bi-weekly contributions and traditional IRA, but do not contribute (started by family)
Own a home.
No future plans for large purchases.

[disneysteve]

To answer your questions:

I'm 34
Have a 401k with bi-weekly contributions and traditional IRA, but do not contribute (started by family)
Own a home.
No future plans for large purchases.

You didn't answer Petunia's main question:

What is the money for?

In order to give advice on how to invest it, we need to know the purpose and timeline for the investment.

Also, what percentage of your income is currently being saved for retirement. You mention having the 401k but how much are you putting into it (as a % of gross income)?

[feh]

In order to give advice on how to invest it, we need to know the purpose and timeline for the investment.

Ditto.

If you're investing for retirement, then look here: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogle...g_start-up_kit

[Jimhassel]

Transfer it !

Better transfer into my account, shall I inbox you ?

[mark_1]

The money would be for retirement. I currently contribute 13% of my gross pay to 401k.

[jIM_Ohio]

Not sure the appropriate place to post this, so I will start here. I do not know much about investing, but I am good at saving and need a place to put my money. I have 3 accounts which are holding cash, but not making any.

1. CMA (merrill lynch): Approx $36,000
2. Online Savings Account: $14,000
3. Local Savings Account: $4,500

I have a checking account that my paycheck deposits to and bills are paid out of. Occasionally, I'll move money into my online or local savings account.

My thought was to combine accounts 1&2, leave 3 for emergency and contribute to whatever 1&2 become. I'd like to move away from Merrill. My account is so small there, that it gets overlooked.

Fidelity offers a managed portfolio that supposedly advisors watch your money. There is a 50k minimum which I would meet.

I'm 34
Have a 401k with bi-weekly contributions and traditional IRA, but do not contribute (started by family)
Own a home.
No future plans for large purchases.

Can anyone provide some advice?

Do you have a mortgage, or own the home free and clear?
What is interest rate on mortgage? Car loans?

How much do you have leftover each month after expenses?

[snafu]

Sadly, they don't teach much about finance in most school programs. A quick, easy read likely available at your local library, even e-book is The Automatic Millionaire [Dave Bach].

It's important to know what you currently hold in your employer sponsored 401K and the fees you are being charged. What are you holding in your family IRA? What fees are you paying on CMA? Your contributions can't make much if fees use up most of the profit. At present interest rates are so low the increased costs of food, transportation, banking fees and basic living costs are out pacing interest from savings.

[Rboone]

If you looking to save for retirement I would suggest opening a Roth IRA or Self Direct 401K account. After doing that you can then use those accounts to lend on asset such as real estate or other assets of your choosing just like banks do. All the profit you make from the interest will be tax free or deferred since it goes directly into your Roth IRA retirement account or Self Direct 401K account that you setup. By lending on real estate aka real property your money is back by an valuable asset. Similar to how the US dollar was back by gold. If you were to do some research on that subject you will find that the U.S. dollar was worth more back then because it was backed by a valuable asset. You obviously wouldn't lend at 100% of any assets full value. That would be novice of you. But 50-60% of its value would not be a bad investment. My bank is currently paying less than .5% for a 6 month CD! $50,000 invested at an annual rate of .5% is $250. That same $50,000 invested at 10% (for example) will earn you $5,000 over the same 12 months. That’s an additional $4,750 in your pocket within the exact same time period! You do the math. Banks make big bucks lending. You can too. Be the Bank!

[VirtualAgent]

A Suggestion...

Since you're only 34 years old you may want to consider cash value life insurance as an asset to help reduce the impact of the rise in future tax rates. Do a little research on Indexed Universal Life plans and how they can benefit. Some even come with "Living Benefits" now which is a definite plus. Life Insurance isn't exactly an investment option but it definitely gives you the peace of mind knowing you do have financial security and there's much less risk involved.
Pay yourself first, is what I always say.

[Petunia 100]

Since you're only 34 years old you may want to consider cash value life insurance as an asset to help reduce the impact of the rise in future tax rates. Do a little research on Indexed Universal Life plans and how they can benefit. Some even come with "Living Benefits" now which is a definite plus. Life Insurance isn't exactly an investment option but it definitely gives you the peace of mind knowing you do have financial security and there's much less risk involved.
Pay yourself first, is what I always say.

Yes, absolutely do research on indexed universal life plans and cash value life insurance. Choose any search engine and type in "Is an indexed universal life policy a good investment?" and choose any of the hundreds of links telling you that no, it is not. Read as many as you like. Next, type in "Is a whole life policy a good investment?" and repeat the process.

Take a moment to reflect on how wonderful it is that just a little bit of research on the internet can save you from being fleeced. Research rocks.

[DisciplinedSaver101]

If you are willing to invest long term, your best bet is to put the money into an S&P 500 Index Fund. This outperforms most mutual funds with much lower fees. Charles Schwab has the lowest fee. If you invest $50,000 that way now, you can expect to have over $600,000 when you turn 65.

[mollardr1]

Large Cap funds

If this is for a retirement fund, you should put a good portion of that in some large cap funds.. but not all of it. Putting some of your money in some large cap funds that have a long history that you can see how it has moved will protect you from loosing it(they are more stable investments) Find some dividend stocks as well. MO is a good stock that has a nice dividend on it. BKE is also a good company... great dividend and $0 debt... those are the kind of company's i like to get into.

I have a Fidelity account, Scottrade ROTH, and a Wells Fargo Roth... Scottrade and Fidelity i manage myself. With alot of research you can do... just ask you banker or other people that know investments before you pull the trigger... I have really cut down my costs by managing the accounts my self....

hope this helps.