What is the most profitable and safest way to invest your money? need some company name and types thanks?

I HAVE SOME MONEY LEFT OVER FROM MY PAYCHECK EACH MONTH AND I WANTED SO START INVESTING IT. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW OR WHAT TO DO. SO I WAS HOPING YOU GUYS COULD GIVE ME SOME ADVICE ON WHAT TO DO. STOCK? MUTUAL FUNDS? CD? WHICH COMPANIES DO YOU PERFER AND WHAT TYPES OF INVESTMENT ARE THE BEST? OH YEA AND HOW DO THEY EACH WORK THANKS

The most profitable investments are not the safest investments, and the safest investments are not the most profitable. Stocks are most profitable, but they are risky.Bonds and money market funds are pretty safe, but have lower returns.

Standard investment advice is that you should invest in a diversified mix of stocks, bonds, and money market funds. You want to buy a diversified portfolio of stocks as individual stocks are too risky. Most folks have a dificult time buying a properly balanced portfolio of stocks on their own. Unless you know what you are doing, it is best to buy mutual funds. I like Vanguard.com, other people like Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, and DFA. Buy no-load, low -expense funds. If you are like most people you will invest part of your money aggressively in stock funds, and part conservatively in money market funds and bond funds. Vanguard has an on-line questionnaire which will give you an idea of how to do "Asset Allocation," determining how much to put in each type of fund.

If your company offers a 401K plan at work, try to invest the most you can. The money grows tax free, and some companies will match your contribution. Investing in a mutual fund IRA is also a good idea. If you have children, you may want to consider a 529 plan or other college savings plan that grows tax free.

I like index funds. Because of their broad diversification, you are less likely to have a dramatic drop in value. They also have the lowest expenses. For stock funds, I would suggest putting ~70-80% of your money in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. and ~20-30% in a foreign stock index fund. However, there are many different opinions out there on what the best mutual funds are. Read the links below and form your own opinion.

If you have high-interest debt, like credit cards, it is best to pay this off first before trying most of the investment ideas above. You should also have 3-6 months of salary saved up as an emergency fund in a bank or money market fund before trying more risky investments.

Believing advice you get on Yahoo answers can be risky, so read these websites for further information. If you find it too confusing, contact a professional financial advisor. They will charge you significant commissions, however.
Sources:
http://www.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/planni...
http://www.fool.com/school.htm
http://sec.gov/investor/pubs/assetalloca...
http://www.diehards.org/readsites.htm
http://finance.yahoo.com/education/begin...
http://finance.yahoo.com/funds/basics

Asset Allocation Calculators
(Determining how much to put in stocks and how much into bonds and money markets is a personal decision depending on your financial status. These Asset Allocation questionaires give you a rough idea how to do this. I like Vanguard best, but try some of the other sites as well.)
https://personal.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/...
https://ais2.tiaa-cref.org/cgi-bin/WebOb...
http://www.ifa.com/SurveyNET/index.aspx

Web forum: http://www.diehards.org/
(Many investment web forums are overrun by scam artists. This one seems the most legitimate site.)

529 plans: http://www.savingforcollege.com

I would invest in a mutual fund...

if you are a young person and can accept some ups and downs you'll want mostly stock based mutual funds.

A share of a mutual fund holds values in multiple companies. I found a decent fund today whose symbol is FEXPX.

I would also consider investing into FSMEX or FSCHX. Those last two are medical related funds who have stocks invested into the medical field.

The talk is that medical related funds and value funds will be the winners in 2008.

A value fund invests in stocks that are determined to be a bargain (under priced) for investors.

Intel

if you happen to consider investing in forex market, check out this site. they offer free ebooks for beginners, personal account management, live training, one-on-one help, full control with online access, hands-on moneys invested, security and safety, no hidden costs, and much more.

You need to educate yourself first so you can make intelligent decisions. Start by reading "Investing For Dummies."

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