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 Hi, I have some money in the market with wacovia
I have FBICX @ 110599M shares and XLACX 1,915.071 shares and apx 11.500 in cds. I did make a few bucks since 1999 apx 10,000 all together , is there any way that I can make it grow faster without loosing it ? I know there is allways a risk .
Thanks Roger jmWarrington @ chevy and vintage cars in the all experts
Answer As you eluded to, risk and return go hand in hand. Unfortunately, there is no sure fire way to acheive a high rate of return without taking on some risk. But, risk can be controlled, assuming your view of risk is volatility. For starters, your mix between stocks and bonds is the most powerful decision you can make (more in stocks equates to more risk, but higher returns over longer periods of time). If you choose to invest in stocks, diversification is key. In my opinion, you want to make sure you own a core fund such as S&P 500 and then build around it with small US and international. An easy way to implement this is with low cost index funds through a company such as Vanguard. For more information on risk, return and the imporance of diversification, I would visit www.vanguard.com. Enter the personal investors portion of the website and go to the planning and advice tab. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
