Risk Free investment does not exist. But the least risky investment is US Govt. paper. 24lb, preferably.
Ladder a portfolio with bonds. Utilize corporate, Municipal (General Obligation), Agency, and US Govt Bonds. Since you only have $50,000 look into Bond Funds such as Pimco funds or something similar with the lowest fees. The returns are not great but safety is also a concern. Structure the portfolio with the shortest Duration to minimize associated risks. Good Luck !!! Best Regards, Dave Scott About Laddering a Portfolio: http://www.thornburginvestments.com/research/articles/laddering_303.asp
Virtualbank (http://www.virtualbank.com/) has a 2.15% money market account. I think ING, has a 2% SAVINGS account... Not sure if 2% is enough, but it is zero risk... And money market rates are actually low right now, if interest rate rise, then so does the MM...
The organized crime problems are overblown US propaganda. Russian mafia syndicate is becoming more and more like the Japanese Yakuza. Yet noone runs scared from Japan investments, even though their government & business is run by organized crime. Russia has many wildcat banks which is why I said to make sure you pick the right bank. The ones that pay 7% do so because they are playing with your money.
you may want to check out "fixed annuities with a guaranteed return of principal" as an option. The interest paid will most likely be above CD's and bonds....but then again you need to take into consideration your age, time horizon etc...
I know you can open a savings Citibank account in Russia at 5% APY, but in addition if Russian Ruble will rise against the dollar you can make extra few points on the exchange rate. The current estimates RR/USD will rise 4% by the end of the year due to high oil prices and booming Russian economy. But investing in Russia even with Citibank is still like buying options. Only do it with the part of your money your are willing to risk and lose.
Ehhhh that's a really stupid statement. But whatever, let the masses think that. Easier money for me.
Incredible!!! Hard for me to understand what people are thinking about. "Risk Free" investments are easy to find. In the US, simply buy United States treasuries. They are backed by the "full faith and credit" of the US goverment. The shorter the duration, the less total "yield risk" for the investor. If I were buying, I would look for 2-5 year instruments. In addition, each state in the US offers "general obligation bonds". Currently California is most attractive from a total yield standpoint. An investor wanting to buy "general obligations" bonds should buy them through a good broker who specializes in this. Always by individual issues with a date certain redemption. If I remember correctly, you can get a list of each state's initial offering of general obligations in the New York Times. Buying initial offerings you can save a little bit, because the state pays the commission. If you invest in a bond fund, you will suffer losses as the interest rate moves up later in the year. "Laddering" bonds is a valid strategy where the investor buys bonds of different durations each one a little longer than the next. Unfortunately it will not work in this environment because longer duration bonds will take a heavy hit as interest rates move up. It is a better strategy to simply buy short duration instruments periodically, keeping the balance in bank CD's. Check out Bankrate.com. Hope this has been of some help. Regards, Steve46 P.S. By the way. This is NOT investment advice. It is only my opinion based on experience.
Bufferman, Someone told me today about ASL Direct. I talked to a "Adrian Limus" there at 1-800-404-4891. Tell him Marcel sent you. I found out that I could purchase Abria Arbitrage fund through them and any retainer fees or commissions would be refunded to me, which could be thousands each year. He agreed that the fund is a lot safer than most stocks or bonds, especially right now and gives a fair return.
do you guys think that people would pour lots of money into VERY close to risk free (90-95% no risk) investing returning 4-6% when they could put money into a managed fund with much higher returns and higher risk??