Investing for maximum return years down the line.?

i'm interested in investing between 500-1000 month. i understand that the max roth ira is 4500. i'm over 30 and i have nothing to depend on for retirement. in 10 years just to start what could my return look like? with the max being 4500 for the ira, i'd like to build a portfolio with other sound investments. i may just go to the bookstore and pick up a book on investing, but until then, i'd appreciate any advice.

Warren Buffett say "Put all your eggs in one basket, then watch that basket very close" You can get high returns but only if your interested in taking the time to educate yourself and be active in watching your investment. Otherwise invest in a mutual fund and just get average returns. That will take longer but you don't have to think! If you want some really good returns check out the link below.

I would highly suggest investing in a medium risk mutual fund... The reason for a medium risk is because over a long period you will most likely receive 8-25 percent interest where in a low risk mutual fund you will get 2-6 percent and a high risk fund the sky is the limit. Low risk funds you will doubtly lose any money where high risk funds the chances of losing instead of gaining are very high.... So I suggest you stick it in the middle and you can start off with a minimum of usually 2,500 dollars and add minimum increments of 100 dollars whenever youd like. Also unlike the retirement funds you will not be penalized for taking money out when you choose too.

If you wanna get more information on a mutual fund they are very easy to find, and you can just send in for a free info packet.

Take a look at two REITS managed by Vestin Mortgage of Las Vegas, Nevada. Vestin Fund I is listed on NASDAQ as VRTA. Vestin Fund II is listed on NASDAQ as VRTB. Both are trading at significant discounts right now. They have been trading publicly for less than one year.

Basically, you are talking about an annuity calcuation. You can do this in Excel using the "FV" function.

I assumed your real after-tax return as 4% per yr, and that you would save $500 per month for the next 35 years. The future value of that is $456,865. Assuming a spend ratio of 3% you could draw about $13,000 per year (pre-tax unless it is a Roth) to spend.

Now all is not lost assuming you have other forms of savings that you will build over the next three decades. This could include ownership of a home, other savings, insurance products, and (hopefully) Social Security. It does say that saving $500 per month in an IRA is only a start.

I disagree with many of my fine peers above. Mainly because: Why let a mutual fund hit you with all their service fees when ETFs allow you to follow the market without management?

Here you go - I call this the "dream portfolio":

The first one should be 25% of your money in XLG: an index fund that consists of the common stocks of the 50 largest U.S. companies: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=XLG

The next (25%) is my personal favorite, the PEY. This Fund invests its assets in common stocks of companies that have a consistent record of dividend increases:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PEY

The next one (25%) helps with diversification because it is NOT made of stocks. It invests in world currency and always returns better than bank interest:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=DBV

The last one (25%) I like is a buy & hold for the long-term : it was voted the best long-term hold by Smart Money magazine because it is an investment in water. The PHO holds companies worldwide dealing with the provision of potable water, the treatment of water and the technology and service that are directly related to water consumption:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PHO

If you don't have a brokerage account then you can start with an online discount brokerage. Here is a list:
http://www.smartmoney.com/brokers/index....

Your return could easily look like 15% per year with the above. Good luck to you!