ETFs give you the diversity of a Mutual Fund while maintaining lequidity of a stock. If you are already an investor I would suggest putting together a small porfolio that holds 40% fixed income ETFs (bonds and the like) these will pay you monthly dividends and are reasonably safe. Then another 40%-50% should be put into US equity Etfs lage cap, mid cap, small cap if you want more risk and more return lean more on small cap or if you want less risk and stability lean toward large cap. The last 10%-20% you can toss at whatever you think looks promising (again I would stick with an ETF) such as real estate which is doing well, or if you think Brasil will pop after the world cup you can put some money there, or maybe put it into your fixed income ETFs or a developed country ETF (like the UK or Canada) for less risk.

I agree with ashok's post in that your education and home can be invaluable. And if you don't have experience with invest then stop my your bank and open an IRA. 20K can also be a downpayment on a house, completely buy a car, fund a small business, take you and a significant other on a vacation, or remodel some of your home.

Whatever your life needs that's where the money should go. If you invest be sure that you can do without that money.

You should try with Penny Stocks Trading (you can find more info here: http://pennystocks.toptips.org)

Penny stocks, also known as cent stocks in some countries, are common shares of small public companies that trade at low prices per share.

I've been subscribing to this PennyStock web site for about a year now and have loved the objective advice they give. He really does look for quality stocks and I've made some pretty nice profits on a lot of his suggestions. Being still fairly new to investing I have been dabbling a lot in penny stocks to try and grow my account. I may not have a big account, but it's a lot bigger than it was a year ago. On just one of Nathan's picks this year I managed to make my investment back ten-fold! Be careful! Penny stocks are notoriously risky but if you follow the right method the risk is almost 0. I suggest to invest only little money first and then reinvest the profits. This is the site I'm using: http://pennystocks.toptips.org

Cheers ;)

The main problem of almost every trader is the thoughts that trading is game or it's easy money. Before profitable trading you should learn a lot about this field. So, even don't try to trade with real money. You can learn how to make real money from this course ( http://forexsignal.kyma.info ) Second, you should choose the right broker. There are some brokers that plays against their own clients. So, your main goal - find good broker. Third, yo can generate more profits with automated trading software. As you maybe know, there is a lot of different scammers on trading market so it will be hard to find really profitable trading system. That strategy brings me a lot of money every month, all thanks to the course that I posted above. Hope you will follow my recommendations, bye!

I agree with Mike and Joe. Smart stock investing usually yields the greatest return, however you need to have the time and ability to learn accounting, finance, and fundamental analysis.

If you rather let someone else manage your money, you may give up a higher return in exchange for this. If that's your objective, mutual funds may be right for you.

Overall though, a stock broker or financial adviser should be able to give you advice tailored to your specific situation.

If you do not want to take any risk and happy with small interest income, invest in a Bank. If you are prepared to take risk and do not know about share trading, invest in a good Mutual Fund.

mutual funds, stocks

You could consult a stock broker and try your, luck or just put in a saving account and earn interest.

Would you be willing to donate some to a college student? lololol

Real estate!! It would make a nice down payment on a piece of rental property.

in mind mind I can't see anything but muni bonds