Pros And Cons of Different Types Of Investments

When deciding where to invest your money, you need to always take into account your investment goals and objectives. Different types of investments carry varying degrees of risks and potential return.



CD

A bank CD is a very safe investment. The CD is FDIC insured up to $100,000, so there truly is minimal risk. The only downside is that you cannot withdraw that money in the CD for a specific amount of time or else you'll receive a penalty. Bank CDs generally only pay up to 5% interest.

Bonds

A bond is essentially a loan you make to a company or a government. Bonds have varying degrees of risk, from essentially risk-free treasuries to junk bonds. The higher the risk of the bond, the higher the return will generally be.

Stocks

Stocks are investments in companies. Depending on the company, the risk of the investment can be high or low. Obviously, buying stock in Johnson and Johnson is a lot less risky than a new internet startup company. In general, the stock market returns on average about 10% a year, though the actual return of any given stock will vary significantly.

Mutual Funds

A mutual fund typically invests in over 100 stocks, so it's an instant way to diversify your portfolio. However, the mutual fund generally charges a fee, which is about 1% of your assets per year. Because of this fee, most mutual funds do not outperform the market; a monkey blindly picking 100 stocks but not charging you a fee could easily outperform most mutual funds.

Real Estate

Real estate is a popular investment. The most obvious real estate investment you'll make is when you purchase your home. Your home can go up or down in value when you sell it; it depends on the housing market in your area.
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Tips For Choosing The Best Stockbroker

Choosing a stock broker can be an annoying task. While they all seem the same, there are differences in commission rates that you should be aware of. Depending on the type of investor you are, you may end up paying too many fees depending on the broker you choose. Here are some tips for choosing the best stock broker, depending on the type of investor you are.

1. Casual investor. If you are casual investor with a moderate amount of capital ($200k or less), then chances are most of your money is in ETFs or index funds. In this case, a discount broker is fine. You will rarely make many trades and you do not need much advice since you are just investing in standard, safe investments. A brokerage like TD Ameritrade is good for you since they have $9.99 trades.

2. Frequent trader. If you are a chartist, then finding a broker with low fees is a very high priority. Most discount brokers will give discounts to people who trade frequently. One example is E-trade. Another site like Interactive Brokers might be good for you too. Be careful with this sort of investment style, as fees may gobble up all of your profits!

3. High net worth investor. If you have $1 million+ in the stock market, then chances are you can get a discount on how much you pay per trade. This is especially the case with the established, big firms such as Fidelity. Fidelity offers $8 trades to those with $1 million+ in their Fidelity accounts.

4. Short seller. If you plan on selling many stocks short, you need a broker that has access to these shares so that you can short them. Most of these brokerages will be able to short mid and large caps for you, but many do not have access to a large percentage of the small cap stocks. Interactive Brokers might be the best broker for short sellers.

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