Suggest me some investment options

[konakona]

My parents left it up to me to manage about 60k of their money here in the states as they went back to their home country earlier this year. Up until now, I have not had enough time to worry about it, but every time I call up my bank, CSRs would always spell out the benefits of their savings account. That and a link from that citibank signup bonus thread got me thinking about extra money I (yeah, my parents', but they entrusted it to me) could be making.

I don't have any plans for purchasing a car, house, or anything of that financial burden anytime soon. Money could be locked up for two good years for the very least, and I would imagine that opens the door to more lucrative possibilities compared to the checking account I currently have. Also, it is most likely that I will have an extra $800~$1000 to put aside each month. To some of you here it may not be a large sum, to our family it definitely is; therefore, I am not too eager to take a high risk - no stocks, no gambling of any sort.

Kinda reminds me of one of the x-roomates back in the undergrad years that happened to get into the reinvestment consulting business. Knowing his track record though, I don't feel too safe approaching him about this lol.

So, what do you guys think? TIA as always.

 

[mooglemania85]

I hear the son of a deposed king of Nigeria is accepting cash investments.

 

[sierrita]

Topic Title: Suggest me some investment options.




Hooked on phonics.

 

[jacob0401]

high yield interest savings (lots of them around...ING, HSBC Direct, etc) ~4-6% return
index mutual funds (lots of these too...vanguard is most commonly known) ~8% return

 

[DaveSimmons]

For just 2 years I'd go with the high interest savings account. Easy to manage and easy to add to or take out of in an emergency.

My long-term investments are in stock index mutual funds, but 2 years isn't really long-term.

Your parents might not understand if they come back during a dip in the market like what happened this Summer. It was a good time to buy, but a scary time for anyone needing to cash out part of their investment.

 

[redgtxdi]

Check today's "What would you do w/ $250K thread"...........


You can make 12%..............it's easy!!

 

[ponyo]

Check out Bankrate.com for CD rates and online savings account. I would put 50-75% in a CD and the rest in an online savings account. Feds will likely cut interest rate further so I would use CDs to lock in a rate.

 

[Special K]

For the timeframe you are suggesting I think you would be best with a money market fund such as Vanguard's VMMXX or maybe just a bank CD or online savings account.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: jacob0401
high yield interest savings (lots of them around...ING, HSBC Direct, etc) ~4-6% return
index mutual funds (lots of these too...vanguard is most commonly known) ~8% return

I don't think index funds will guarantee you an 8% return over only a 2 year span.

 

[SSSnail]

Prosper.com

I keeeed, I keeed.

 

[Strk]

Bees

 

[grohl]

most savings/money market accounts now are paying ~5%. Consider 6 month or 1yr CD at ~5.5%. Any higher risk and you risk losing it, 2 yrs is a pretty short term investment.

 

[konakona]

Originally posted by: mooglemania85
I hear the son of a deposed king of Nigeria is accepting cash investments.

Western Union MOs sound safer though.

Check today's "What would you do w/ $250K thread"...........

kinda scared to look

So far I have money market fund, CD, online savings account. Speaking of that link I have mentioned, there are online checking accounts that offer 5% or more. Isnt 5% on savings kinda low? Please excuse my ignorance, I have no clue when it comes to reinvestment.

What would you consider sufficient time for mutual funds and such? Depending on where I choose to stay, this may well extend to 5-8 years or even longer.

 

[DaveSimmons]

With a 4+ year timespan I'd consider an S&P 500 index mutual fund or exchange traded fund a good investment. There's no gauarantees with any stock-based investment, but over that period I'd expect it to do much better than a CD and an S&P 500 fund is as safe as stocks get.

You might consider splitting the money between that and savings. That way if you do need to cash out the mutual fund shares you can hopefully wait until after any short-term drop is over.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: grohl
most savings/money market accounts now are paying ~5%. Consider 6 month or 1yr CD at ~5.5%. Any higher risk and you risk losing it, 2 yrs is a pretty short term investment.

Yeah, that sounds about right. A high yield savings account will be pretty simple and straight forward.

 

[jacob0401]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: jacob0401
high yield interest savings (lots of them around...ING, HSBC Direct, etc) ~4-6% return
index mutual funds (lots of these too...vanguard is most commonly known) ~8% return

I don't think index funds will guarantee you an 8% return over only a 2 year span.

yea not at 2 years, but he said two years at the very least.