Looking for advice on the best way to invest $20,000 as someone in my mid-20's??

I am looking for advice on the best way to invest $20,000.00 I recently turned 25. I am not looking to purchase a home until my late 20's as I may need to travel/relocate within the next couple years for work.
I do have a 6 month emergency fund available, and I am able to pay all bills with my current income, so I will not need the $20K for at least a couple years. I don't have much credit card debt, but I do have a student loan.
I am looking for the highest rate of return, and I am open to taking investment risks. I would like to learn about investing in stocks/mutual funds, but I don't know if I have enough experience/knowledge to start myself, and wouldn't know where to begin with this sum of money.

Any input/suggestions appreciated!

FYI I will need this for a down payment on a house in a few years, so will need access to some of it.

GET OUT OF DEBT... STAY OUT OF DEBT!! USE THE MONEY TO PAY OFF YOUR DEBTS, AND THEN INVEST THE REST IN A ROTH IRA (A long-term retirement fund with investement options). YOU ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE THAT MONEY, BUT DEBT IS NO FUN... PAY YOUR DEBT!

You might $5K each into a domestic equities small-cap fund, a domestic equities large-cap fund, an "emerging markets" fund, and then a broad-market tracking "ETF" like SPY, DIA, or even IWB (if you are "conservative").

In your 20's you have a 40-50 year investment horizon for retirement, you can very reasonably expect $20, 000 dollars to become about $350,000 at retirement even if you never saved another penny!

Congratulations on making a great start.

ROTH IRA. You don't pay a dime for any interest earned.

first of all pay off your credit card debt- whatever rate you get on any investment probably wont match what you are losing on the interest from your credit card debts

I would diversify through mutual funds at scottrade.com.

I would also look into emigrantdirect.com, ingdirect.com, hsbc.com and open a high yield savings account for all of your emergency funds and whatever you dont invest- i use emigrantdirect.com and they pay a little over 5% interest.

although you say you don't want to buy a home, real estate is still one of the best investments you can make. consider buying land in a fast growing area, such as tourism communities, commercial development areas, and any where there is steady rapid growth over a number of years. or maybe consider investing in real estate investment trusts(reits) .... good luck.

I'm in a similar situation- mid 20s, no house, no debt, and a decent chunk of money to throw around. Since you are new to investing, I would not recommend purchasing individual stocks. This is not a game for novices. Even professionals may get lucky with a few good picks, but very few people can make picks that beat the market over the long term. For most investors, index funds provide the greatest long-term return of any type of investment. An index fund is similar to a mutual fund, but they charge much lower management fees and almost always perform better over the long-term because of the lower fees.

Some people have mentioned a ROTH-IRA. This is a good idea, as it allows your money to grow tax-free, but be aware that you will incur penalties if you take it out before retirement age and that you can only put 4k per year into a ROTH-IRA.

There are few things that you should consider before investing.How long you want to invest for? what kind of return you are looking for income or growth.If you are looking for high returns then invest in shares.To achieve excellent returns on your investments it is important to adopt the right investing strategies. To Learn more about shares and stock trading check the website link below.

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PUT 5K IN DANS 5K IN ALT SELL EACH AS THEY HIT $2
WITHIN 3 MO

Invest in the forex market! But for starters only invest 10k if your are satisfied with the profits invest more! And from personal experience you will invest more and more! Of course there is always the chance of losing some of your money, but with a experienced trader you could also increase your 10k substantially. I am a forex trader for a firm located in Texas and if you want more info contact me. There are a lot of ways to make a profit of off your 20K, I see it happen 6 days a week. The market is closed on Saturday! lol

Hi, I'm Faizal. I can guide you on this. Kindly email or YM me at aj_log@yahoo.com.sg, YM id: aj_log for further info.

Open a brokerage account at Zecco and invest in the Vice Fund.