Are You Investing Your Money Intelligently?

If you are a proud SoFlo resident, from Miami through to Fort Lauderdale, you will know that investing your spare dollars makes sense. Many banks in the USA offer you low-interest rates when depositing your savings. This has led many to look at other ways of using their spare money to actually earn a bit more.

The returns that some investments can bring are much higher than anything a bank savings account could offer, which is why many people choose to invest.

Of course, if you are new to investing in the South Florida region, you may not know where to start. There are certainly lots of choices when thinking of where to put your money to work. As with everything in life, some choices are better than others.

Some ways to invest money intelligently

It is important to think hard about where you will invest before you put any dollars down – this will ensure that you enjoy the experience and stand the best chance of getting a decent return.

Here are five of the most intelligent investments to make right now:

• Mutual funds – To begin with, you may want to invest with a mutual fund. It is essentially a collection of different stocks or assets that are managed by a fund manager. You invest money into the fund and then get a return based on how the different assets in it performed. The reason this is a smart move is that you only pay minimal fees due to the reduced number of trades placed, and the risk across the fund is low due to it being diversified.

• Bonds – another intelligent and low-risk investment to consider is bonds. These could be US Treasury Bonds or bonds issued by private companies. In effect, it is you lending them money by buying the bond they issue, which they then agree to pay back, with interest on it. The amount of interest is the money you will make on the investment. The smart thing about bonds is that they are pretty much guaranteed to see you get your money back with the extra interest, as long as you pick a successful company.

• Real estate – this is one investment sector that can make you serious money if done right. This makes for an intelligent investment move as it is pretty easy to understand and can make some great returns over the lifecycle of the investment. It is also easy to get into and there are many opportunities around for the savvy investor. Of course, this is one investment where the key is to research the real estate and area it is in before parting with money.

• Roth IRA retirement account – one thing that all residents in South Florida have to plan for is getting old! This means that you should invest money into a retirement account as soon as you can to prepare for finishing work. Not only does this make sense in a practical way but it is one of the best places to invest money, anyway. The tax advantages these kinds of accounts offer make them a smart move. The Roth IRA account is one of the most popular personal retirement accounts to open.

• ETFs – this stands for exchange-traded funds and is an investment that you can make on the stock market via your broker. They work in a broadly similar way to mutual funds, although you would be the only investor and manage it yourself. They do, however, give the same benefits in terms of spreading risk across a group of securities, which is their main advantage.

Why not use an external wealth management company? 

The above investment options are all sound and pretty simple but not all investors want to be directly involved. If you simply do not have the time or knowledge to make managing your own portfolio feasible, a wealth management company is a great idea. Creative Planning is one such company that shows why this can be a superb option for many investors.

Wealth management firms will allow you to have the benefits of investment without the hassle of managing it all yourself. Even better: the finance professionals who work in these kinds of organizations will have years of expert knowledge on which to base decisions.

Invest your money wisely 

Some people can feel a little nervous about investing money and this is perfectly natural. If you feel like this, then it is vital to remember that decent returns are possible if it is done right. If you want the control of looking after your own investments, make sure to do your research into where you will invest. For those who cannot or do not want to do this, an external wealth management company may be the best solution.

Either way, it is better than your money sitting in a bank account, effectively doing nothing!