I need to invest around $20,000 - but fairly conservative...???

Like I need better rates than Savings Accounts or CD's - but not too high risk, like in Stocks.

Does anyone have some good investment tips?

You are probably wisest to go with an investment adviser that doesn't make money based on how much you make but is paid a fee to advise you. That way they won't be tempted to move your funds around just to make a commission

If you are willing to go it alone then here is what I'd do. I'd break up the money into at least five different segments. Then I'd go out and find five stocks that pay a good solid dividend(one that is close to what the current prime rate is) that has never gone down. They should also have been around for more than five years and have solid earnings growth for five years. They should have little debt and none if possible. Your debt to equity ratio should be below .50. Finally they should be a top company in a strong industry. Energy comes to mind(we all need energy and will for a while) Consumer stocks is another one(think Johnson and Johnson). Computers, cell phones, autos, you name it there are plenty of bread and butter(bread and butter come to mind (;) industries out there that sell products that won't go away any time soon. Pick a leader in five different industries that have the above characteristics and you should do OK. If you find your five in the S&P 500 that should help.

It won't be easy to find stocks like that but that is the point. If you are going to do this then maybe take a basic accounting course and read the quarterly reports from the stocks you own so you can get a snapshot of what management is thinking and where they are going. Even the best companies can go wrong so learn to read the quarterly reports and if you see things changing in the company don't be afraid to sell and find another company with the same above criteria.

Do a study on a concept called rebalancing so you can force yourself to sell hi and buy low every year or so.

One final piece of advice. Investing is not a guarantee to make money. Stocks can go down. With the above methods and a time frame of at least five years and PATIENCE you should do well over time

I hope that helps

I would not take much risk with a large sum of money like this.

Go to : low-cost-stock-recommendations

.com

Click on "Bonds" or "CD's"

Good Information

Stocks aren't that high risk, as long as you have a longer time horizon. It's risky if you try to pick individual stocks and time the market.

Most of our money is in index mutual funds. Vanguard has low cost ones.

If you're not willing to lose a dime at any time, though, a CD is about the best you can do.

Put it in a mutual fund.

Do not put it in stocks directly.

Either go for a BALANCED mutual fund, which has most of proportion of DEBT and little of Stocks. This way you will safeguard yourself and get better returns than normal (i.e. only debt).

Or you may go for govt. bonds which have fixed returns irrespective of the share market.

Alternatively, you can go for a structured funds which will work on similar basis and will have your desired products like bonds or shares or debt or mixture.

If you are willing to lock that money up for a period of 5 years or so, go for a combination of good value stocks and moderate mutual funds. If you need liquidity sooner, then you might want to look at money market accounts or CDs.

Go buy a CD FDIC insured unless you want to do some work on a daily basis.

Well, at the time UFB direct.com had the highest rates I had seen with a savings account APY of 5.22%. Now with all the rate cuts, that APY turned into 4.40%. So you can do that.

I am buying a house in a year so I split my money between Bank of America and Pfizer. Bank of America pays a 6%+ dividend and Pfizer pays 6%. The nice thing is the dividends will be taxed at 15% rate rather than your current tax rate. Pfizer hasn't moved pricewise in a few years and is an excellent deal. Getting 6% and lower tax on the dividends for a super safe stock is a smart move.

I don't know what area you are from but my husband and I live in Missouri and we have made a killing on flip properties. Our last home we flipped was 17,000.00 we put 9,000 into it and it turned it in 3 months for 52,000.00 wow.... you can figure the profit on that one!! If you are a little handy that's a bonus and its great fun!!

The best investment tip I can give you is, dont do it alone! Get some coaching from people who know about being successful, trust me, its worth it! Let me know if you want some information, i'd be glad to share it with you.

Try http://www.goldenbullstocks.com