AboutJohn D Smith, CFP Expertise I can answer detailed questions regarding mutual fund investing, retirement planning, education planning and related financial planning/investment issues. I have a B.S. degree in Financial Planning & Counseling. I am also a Certified Financial Planner practitioner and have performed fee only investment management and financial planning services for the past 11 years.
Question Hello,
I am 18 years old and want to invest. I don't know much about stocks or bonds but I was told by a co worker to invest in cds. What in your opinion is the safest and most rewarding to invest in.
Answer In my opinion, how you invest your $$ depends on your specific goals and risk tolerance. CD's are a very safe investment, however, the long term rate of return will be fairly low (4-5%). If you want to take on more risk by investing in a diversified portolio of stock and bond mutual funds, you could expect your rate of return to be higher (7-10%) depending on how you invest. I would like to suggest you visit the following website that has good information on mutual fund investing, and investing in general. www.vanguard.com. Enter the personal investors section and go to the planning and advice tab. In addition, there is a popular book geared towards younger investors titled "Get a Financial Life" by Beth Kobliner that you may want to explore. I hope this helps.
