Best of luck. Take Care
Well, I live in the U S and know nothing about the Australian economy or what to invest in.
There are, however, some rules and principles that are common to investing in all countries:
1) Invest in high quality companies, those that have been in existence for many years.
2) Learn how to manage RISK. You will be better off investing in "defensive" companies: those that offer products and services that people need every day (food, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, electricity, water, etc). They are safer that high technology companies, for example.
3) Do not invest large amounts of money at a time. Invest smaller amounts gradually each month. This gives you the benefit of "dollar averaging" and helps to level out the peaks and valleys. It gives you a smoother ride.
4) Diversify your investments. Do not put large sums in one or two industries.
5) Invest for the long term. If you buy "blue-chip" high quality stocks, and hold on to them until you are 65-70 years old, they will be worth much more than they are worth today.
6) If the value of your investments goes down, do not panic and sell any of them. They were good investments when you bought them. So when they're down, it might be a good time to buy more shares of them.
7) It takes discipline and a resistance to "sales pitches" from people who are just trying to make money off of you.
Remember high quality, large companies, not alley shops.
I wish you the best
It's dependent upon your time horizon. If you plan to use that $300k to buy a house in one or two years, the bank account is fine. If you want to have that money for retirement, it should go into a superannuation plan. If you can put this away for five years or more, gradually moving money into a simple index fund would be a good option for you. An investment planner will get 1-2% on top of any fees associated with the investments, and it sounds like you won't want to move money around much.
If you are "motivated" you can learn all you need to know about "investing" in 30 days. If you would rather watch the telly or play video games, you won't.
Go to Yahoo Finance and spend a few hours. Follow the links. read the "experts".
Check out Vanguard, Motley Fool, Wall Street Journal, Forbes and any number of good "investment" sites.
Your money has sat there for awhile, it can sit another 30 days.
And remember, Investing triples your money in a decade.
Gambling triples your money overnight.
Tips from your barber, options, penny stocks, and things you don't understand, are all GAMBLING.
Call four or five Financial Planners and tell each you would like to meet with them to discuss what to do with $30,000 you just inherited....
The one that treats you with the most respect over $30,000 is the one you can trust to steer you right with $300,000...
Before you invest in stocks, check your eligibility using this calculator.
http://fiis.in/stock-eligibility-calcula...
My recommendation for anyone that doesn't know stocks is to sign up for thestreet's actions alerts. You can buy and sell with professionals that way and it takes your guessing out of it. I do that and I think its been great. Thats my recommendation.
Definitely do not take advice from anyone who hasn't bothered to ask you about your age, liabilities, income, retirement targets, etc.
I would suggest you come to jamaica and invest some of that money in water sports and get great return. If you are interested shoot me an email: HILTONALFANSO@YAHOO.COM.
contact a certified financial planner.
basically i have $300,000 sitting in my bank account doing nothing, which i thought was great until i had a speak with some people who stated that i am basically just wasting my money away by not investing.
The problem that i am faced with is the fact that i have no clue what i am doing if i was to invest, and i wouldnt want to go and end up losing my money completely.
I currently live in Australia and was told that there are investment firms that basically do everything for me.
If anyone with experience in investing in Australia would be able to help me, that would be greatly appreciated.
keep in mind that i have 0 knowledge on investing nor the economy whatsoever.
