Att investera väl handlar om att balansera risk och avkastning. De aldrig tidigare skådade utmaningarna som världsekonomin står inför har många sparare som vill minska riskexponeringen.
Även om det är sant att mängden avkastning du kan få beror på hur mycket risk (och förluster) du är villig att acceptera, försörjer sig fantastiska investerare på att balansera dessa krafter. Även om vi inte kan bestämma åt dig hur mycket risk du är villig att ta, har vi strukturerat den här guiden för att ge dig en rad alternativ baserat på noll, låg eller medelhög risk.
Vissa av dessa alternativ, som att ta en bonus för att byta bank, eller att gå in på ett sparkonto med högre avkastning, har ingen risk. Andra alternativ kan kräva ytterligare inlärning eller planering från din sida.
Nollriskinvesteringar Allvarligt talat, det här är gratis pengar. |
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Låg riskinvesteringar Fortfarande säker, minimal nackdel. |
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Investeringar med medelhög risk Förluster kan inträffa då och då. |
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För alla som vill börja investera rekommenderar jag att bara börja smått eftersom ingenting leder till lärande snabbare än handling. Det enklaste sättet att komma igång med att investera i en mängd tillgångsklasser är genom en "robo-rådgivare". Min personliga favorit är Betterment eftersom det är billigt och väldigt enkelt att använda. Ett bra sätt att jämföra är dock att klicka på ditt tillstånd på kartan nedan och se vad som finns tillgängligt i ditt område.
Annonser efter pengar. Vi kan få kompensation om du klickar på den här annonsen.Annons Om du är en nybörjarhandlare eller investerare är det superviktigt att välja rätt aktiemäklare. Onlinebörsmäklare guidar dig med sin stora kunskap, så att du klokt kan investera dina surt förvärvade dollar. Tänk inte på det och klicka på ditt tillstånd idag. View ResultsOne of the historically lowest risk/highest return asset classes is real estate. The problem has always been that its really hard to get started with small amounts of money.
In recent years, great platforms like Fundrise have popped up and “democratized” access to real estate investments. This advancement makes real estate a very viable option for people looking for alternatives to the stock market.
With Fundrise, you can get started with a well diversified portfolio of commercial and mult-family real estate with as little as $500.
Ok, maybe these aren’t actual investments, but consider them smart money moves to make more money and optimize your finances at a baseline.
If you have some extra money you won’t need for a while, you can occasionally earn some free cash with a bank bonus from one of the nation’s best banks. Most banks will offer a bonus as an incentive for you to sign up, and these bonuses can be worth several hundred dollars on their own.
Bank bonuses are sometimes regional, however, and can depend on the local banks in your area and the products they offer.
In exchange for your bank bonus, you may have to set up direct deposit to your new account or use a bank-issued debit card for a certain number of transactions within the first few months.
Just remember to read through all the fine print to learn about any fees that might be levied and how you can avoid them.
By jumping through these hoops, you can usually earn a few hundred dollars for your efforts. Best of all, you won’t have to worry about losing a single cent of your deposit. And if you decide not to keep the account for the long haul, you can always close it once you earn the bonus and meet all of the bank’s requirements.
If you’re looking for a risk-free way to earn some interest on your money, a high yield savings account might be your answer. With these accounts, you’ll earn a nominal amount of interest just for keeping your money on deposit.
Other than opening your account and depositing your money, this strategy requires almost no effort on your part, either. The best high yield savings accounts offer competitive interest rates without charging any fees.
Just like high yield savings accounts, online checking accounts let you earn small amounts of interest on the money you deposit. If you’re going to park your money in the bank anyway, you could surely appreciate earning some interest along the way. Best of all, many online checking accounts charge zero or minimal fees to get started.
One of the easiest ways to squeeze a bit more return out of your stock investments is simply to target stocks or mutual funds that have nice dividend payouts.
If two stocks perform exactly the same over a given period of time, but one has no dividend and the other pays out 3% per year in dividends, then the latter stock would be a better choice.
With dividend stock mutual funds, the fund company targets stocks that pay nice dividends and does all of the work for you.
Unlike U.S. Treasury bonds, corporate bonds are not backed by the government. Instead, a corporate bond is a debt security between a corporation and investors, backed by the corporation’s ability to repay the funds with future profits or using its assets as collateral.
Since you are taking on risk by investing in a company, the returns on corporate bonds are higher than other types of bonds, no matter how creditable the company’s reputation is. While that’s reassuring enough for some investors, if you’re looking for truly low-risk corporate investing, you should consider bond funds.
Bond funds come in the form of ETFs or mutual funds and help to diversify your investment across a number of bonds.
Robo advisors provide a great opportunity for investing in bond funds. If you’re looking to choose what types of funds to build into your portfolio but don’t want to deal with the hassle of constantly balancing your account and re-allocating funds, these might be best for you.
#1 View RatesWhen a government at the state or local level needs to borrow money, they don’t use a credit card. Instead, the government entity issues a municipal bond. These bonds, also known as munis, are exempt from Federal income tax, making them a smart investment for people who are trying to minimize their exposure to taxes.
Most states and local municipalities also exempt income tax on these bonds but talk to your accountant to make sure they are exempt in your specific state.
What makes municipal bonds so safe? Not only do you avoid income tax (which means a higher return compared to an equally risky investment that is taxed), but the likelihood of the borrower defaulting is very low. There have been some enormous municipality bankruptcies in recent years, but this is very rare. Governments can always raise taxes or issue new debt to pay off old debt, which makes holding a municipal bond a pretty safe bet.
You can buy individual bonds or, better yet, invest in a municipal bond mutual fund at brokers like:
Adding on to the dividend stock theme is preferred stock. Preferred stock is a type of stock that companies issue that has both an equity (stock) portion and a debt portion (bond). In the hierarchy of payouts to forms of investments, preferred stock sits between bond payments (which come first) and common stock dividends (which come last).
Preferred stock are not traded nearly as heavily as common stock, but do have less risk than the common stock. It is just another way to own shares in a company while getting dividend payments.
You can track down preferred stock investments at:
As you get closer to retirement, it’s important to reduce your risk as much as possible. You don’t want to start losing capital this late in the game; since you have many years of retirement ahead of you, you want to preserve your cash.
The best low risk investments can help you do just that. By letting you earn nominal amounts of interest on your money with little risk, you can help your nest egg keep up with inflation without losing your shirt. Just remember to read the fine print and educate yourself along the way. And if you’re ever in doubt over an investment product or service, speak with a qualified financial advisor and ask as many questions as you can.
Check out some of our great reviews to help you get a better grasp on what will meet your investment needs: