I have $200k to invest. What should I do? Is that too big sum to invest just on etf´s/passive index funds? Or should I buy stocks on my own, at least with some part of the money?

Some info:

I live in Finland. My income comes from poker, and is therefore highly irregular, but still six figure number per year. I have bought a house already, and I have no debts. My timeframe for investing is anywhere from five years to 50 years. I would estimate my risk tolerance to be somewhat over average.

So my question is should I invest directly on stocks at least with some % of the money, or should I just buy etf´s/index funds with all of it? My personal intrest to stocks is pretty low, so my strategy would be the old buy and hold.

what are TIPS

I mean i'm gonna have a lot of money in cash regardless... so isn't gold a good way to diversify while still being extremely liquid?

sry noob questions i know

Have a look at the price of gold:

http://www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html

Look at the fluctuations on the time horizon you speak of. Then think about all the transaction costs you'll need to pay to both buy, store, and sell it. Do you think it'll nicely account for inflation?

i put 20k into human genome this mornin for about $4

hi i am a professional poker player:

- live in US
- income of 20k/month, 250k/year
- risk = medium/high
- timeframe = not sure. i don't really have any expenses, so i can be flexible.
- no debt
- i already have 120k liquid saved up

a lot of people have told me that i should invest in property. im not really sure about this. would appreciate any help.

Country you live in: United States
Income: poker player. outside of that I have no income i've made 100k this year and i don't really have any expenses (19 not in school live at home no car)
Risk Tolerance: low/medium
Timeframe for investment: 2-10 years willing to go longer though
Debt: none
Amount to Invest: 50k

some more info: I was thinking about building my credit up so i'm able to put a down payment on a house which i would obviously need a loan, and was thinking of renting it out untill i could afford to pay it off from that and poker income combined, is this a good idea? I really don't know much about what I'm doing that's why I'm here trying to learn, any help on that idea would be greatly appreciated. I also am interested in investing in the stock market, again, totally clueless, so if anyone can shed some light on that for me as well that would be great.

Country: USA
Income : Varies
Risk Tolerance : Medium
Timeframe for investment: 30 Years
Debt : None

I have a question about INVESTING:

Let’s say you are a poker player and have built a playing bankroll to $100,000, savings $50,000.

Then one day…….you enter a large Multi Table Tournament and win 1st place, taking home 1 Million Dollars (after taxes)

So you have a bank roll of $100,000 plus another 1 Million.

My question is what is the BEST TANGIBLE ASSET you could acquire with that 1 Million Dollars. By tangible I mean (non stock market/ forex/ commodity market). I was thinking a 12 Unit Apartment building that generates passive income or a franchise…..but being that you have to WORK at the franchise if you purchase one makes me want to consider something else.

Not that I have a million……….I just wanted to know that the BEST tangible Asset would be…or the one that MOST people would acquire in this situation which gives the best return.

"Invest in property" could mean so many things. Land? Real Estate? Condo/Apt complexs? You're probably being told that by people who don't know what they're really talking about it. Not that I would either, but its funny how people just spout that off so they can sound like they know something.

How long has this 250k/year been going on that you're comfortable giving that figure?

Everyone has expenses - if you stopped making money right now and didn't change your lifestyle, how long would 120k last?

Low to medium risk suggets to me you may want to think about a total bond market fund, coupled with a broad based Total World Stock Market index fund like Vanguard Total World ETF and the Total Stock Market Index ETF for the US (tickers BND, VT and VTI). Maybe a 35/35/30 mix (VT, VTI, BND).

Because you're 19 and have labeled a low risk tolerance I want to make sure you're positive about the 50k to invest figure. Are you excluding moneys you would need (to live) if you went on a downswing?

Also as a personal preference -pay rent to your folks. Even if its only a couple hundred a month. You need to get in the habit of paying regular fixed expenses so you can better budget and project true money needs.

Country you live in: Denmark
Income: 10k - 20k per month
Expenses: Aprox. 3k
Risk Tolerance: high to very high
Timeframe for investment: 5-20 years. Dunno really
Debt: Some, but wont be a problem.
Amount to Invest: $10k first off and then adding 2k-10k each month.

With my high risk tolerance I should only buy stocks, right? Should I buy danish stocks or doesn't it matter? Is it important to diversify my holdings or should I pick my favorite stocks and invest in them?
Given my timeframe should I just buy and hold or should I sell and buy new stocks down the road?

the investing in property thing comes from people who say that the prices are really low there, and i should buy something before they go up. no specific information on what i should buy - just wondering what people think.

i've made 125k so far this year at a very steady rate (i'm a mega grinder), but theoretically the games could get tougher and i might have a harder time at it next year, but i don't see it going below 150k for 2010. regardless, im about 95 percent confident i'll break 200k this year, and 50/50 on breaking 250k.

i live with my parents and spend about 1k a week on living expenses. in theory, i guess the 120k would last about 10 years, lol.

Gold is one of the best investments for your money right now.

fyp

Are you paying taxes? If so, are you filing properly? If so, you should consider opening a SEP-IRA. Contribution limit I think is like $50k.

I would consider opening it at Vanguard and take advantage of their no load and low expense ratios. (yes, I'm becoming a Vanguard whore).

right, 1k/month. and yes i am filing taxes.

Hello, i live in Australia and have recently sold an apartment i own. Im going to have about 400k to invest (keeping about 125k cash for ther things) and am curious to what people suggest. I wont be adding to this 400k anytime soon so thats it. Ive been doing alot of reading and listening to the likes of Peter Schiff and Jim Rogers and generaly agree with their points of view. For the moment im looking at physical gold and silver, the Rogers International Commodity Index, Canadian Energy Trusts and im not sure which specific ones yet but some Asian stocks and other stocks of companies that do business in Asia (obv nothing that exports to the US). Going to be defensive stocks, as high dividends as possible in currencies that will appreciate oer time. Things like energy companies, agricultural companies, gold miners etc. Thoughts, suggestion, ideas very much appreciated, thanks

Here is my senario:

I am a 27 year old poker pro living in the US.

debt ~$30k in student loans and back taxes at roughly 5% interest rate. Minimum monthly payment is roughly $600

money ~$4k not including savings for 2009 Taxes

monthly income after expenses ~$3,000

Question: Do I take that additional $3k/month and pump it directly into getting the debt out of the way as fast as possible or grind the minimum payments and invest/save up for a house? I also have a nearly empty Roth IRA that I don't ever put anything into since it has started sucking (2005).

If you go into gold, keep in mind you're entering a speculatory trade based on how you feel supply/demand will change over the time frame of your investment. It does not appreciate in a linear manner like a bond or a dividend paying stock does. It behaves erratically. If you buy physical gold, you're also incurring large transactional expenses, mostly in the form of the 'spread' you're getting (the same way forex places at airports or anywhere rip you off; no fees, but a huge difference between the bid and the ask). You have to beat these transaction costs in order to come out ahead. Some people in the US are bullish on gold because they're bearish on US$. Are you bearish on the Aus$?

How would a portfolio that your suggesting hold up to change in energy discoveries over time? What if a clean energy revolution happens? What if the world enters another great depression and energy is now rationed? How would your portfolio handle that?

Im bullish on the AUD as well, relative to all other currencies around the world at least, im more bullish on the Renminbi for instance.

I think gold at some point in the future will go back to having a monetary use. When/if the USD collapes/loses alot of its value and the world is looking at a new reserve currency (which BRIC nations have been discussing recently, as well as the Chinese organising to settle more of their foreign trade in there own currency) im of the opinion that the world is going to realise they need monatery discipline, eg a gold standard. As im sure alot of people know one of the main reasons the USD became the reserve currency was because they were on a gold standard at the time.

I agree about clean enegry, i'm pretty sure a clean energy revolution will happen sometime. But its not like the world can just change overnight. It would takes years if not a couple of decades for the world to ween itself from its dependance on fossil fuels as an energy source. Theres a huge amount of infrastructure that would have to be planned and built before a big shift could take place. In the mean time there's 1.3 billion Chinese who are consuming more and more energy ever day.

If the world were to enter a great depression and energy was rationed wouldnt that be good? If it is rationed that would be because it is scarce, which means the price of it will go up no? That being said you've got me thinking. Ive read and listened to a bit of stuff about clean energy. What would you suggest, having a few major clean energy companies in my portfolio, a clean energy fund?

Why would gold rise if the US went back to a gold standard? Wouldn't people move back to holding USD's instead and earn interest?

Energy being rationed isn't a good thing. It means price is to high, so people consume less. Less consumption = less revenue for energy producers. Clean energy fund would, like you said, be a very long term prospect but it might be an interesting hedge depending on your portfolio. I doubt the companies would be all pure clean energy, most likely it would be weighted towards a companies own % investment in clean energy.

I dont think its going to be the US that goes to a gold standard. But i think whichever currency eventually replaces the US as the reserve currency wont be able to be another fiat currency. After seeing what has happened to the USD over the last few decades i dont think world leaders will agree to a currency that can be debased like that, they will want some sort of discipline imposed.

I think the most likely scenario, although i could quite possible be wrong, is that eventually, maybe even at the same time as they make their currency fully convertable, is that the Chinese put the Renminbi on a gold standard. Apparently the IMF is trying to sell its gold at the moment which obviously isnt good as the IMF is the 2nd or 3rd largest holder of gold in the world, although if they do sell it and it depresses the price ill probably buy some more. Whichever currency it is though, if gold gains a monetary use again people, especially central banks and governments around the world, will want to own and hold gold, as opposed to the last decade or so where they have been sellers of gold.

Energy rations might not be particularly good for the income streams of energy companies, but the price of the energy commodities, oil or coal or whatever, will rise. Also the reserves of the energy companies will then be seen to be worth alot more. All this being said i think energy rations are a pretty unlikely scenario, is there anything you could point me to that could explain why/how this might happen?

Thanks heaps

If something has a lower demand and a higher supply, the price falls.

Not rations too, rationing by consumers. How will it happen? Well, if you think the gold standard would happen, I'd imagine it would come through huge political pressure from large amounts of economic stress, say, a depression. A depression causes people to ration resources which causes an over supply and depresses prices.

My main concern though is you don't seem to have a price in all of this. You're making a trade, you have to know what a good entry price is, and what a good exit price is, a time frame, and what action would look bad your trade trade. You're making a top-down trade, you're taking a large macro idea and trying to execute niche trades according to this. I'll be blunt, I don't know anyone who has ever done this successfully over the long run except maybe Soros but even he micro manages and diversifies ideas very creatively and expertly. I think you have to be very careful with whatever you do, because you're playing with fire right now and when I've asked you about the temperature all I'm hearing is vague notions about how "its hot enough to burn some things, I'm not sure how long, but its fire". Good luck.

I would work on reducing the debt. I'd also max out my Roth. I'm in a similar situation; if I were you, I wouldn't want to pay $600 a month towards my student loans on top of a mortgage and property tax, so I'd need to reduce that expense before buying a house regardless.

ETA: You probably also want to build up some emergency savings. Six months' living expenses is a good start.

My suggestion to everyone is never do this. All retirement accounts will offer a cash option (or they should) that should be exercised, that way at a later time you can move the money out of cash into available funds.

Why never? You can only make up contributions in the last tax year. So you will be limited to $10k total (2009 + 2008). You've missed out entirely on 2006 and 2007's contributions of $8000 total.

Country you live in: New Zealand
Income: 5-20k/month from poker
Risk Tolerance: High
Timeframe for investment: Any
Debt: None
Amount to invest: ~50k USD

Currently the amount is in savings account,
Possibly moving to Asia after I graduate in mid 2010 so not sure if that matters for investment time frame.
Interested in learning about trading and have a finance major background in university but not so strong in practical knowledge. Would it be spew to take a portion and try out trading? If so, how much and what should I be learning to trade for a beginner?

Much appreciated

I have a question for you. I have a piece of property in Australia that I might sell. I'm wondering how Australian capital gains tax works. In figuring out the amount of the capital gain what could you consider apart from the buying price and selling price? (I'd also be interested in hearing answers to your question too).