Retirement, the kids, the property ladder – most investment advice written on the Internet is for long term investing of 10 years or more. But what if you are not saving for your old age, your kids education or your next house? What if you just want to make a short term investment? Perhaps you’ve got hold of some unexpected cash and you want to put it somewhere until you work out what to do with it? In this is your case, then read on!
Of-course you could always use the money to start a business, but this can take a long time to pay back, and is certainly not suitable for people who are already very busy. So you need to find a way to invest the money which will be profitable not take much of your time. Here is my 5 point guide to short term investing:
1) Short Term Bonds
Short term bonds come with no risk whatsoever, and so they are a very attractive option for short term investing. Keep in mind though that you must only invest in bonds with established firms. Firms with large debts are best avoided. This takes a little research, but once done bonds can give you a nice little return over a short period of time.
2) Stock Market Investments
The problem with this method of short term investing is that a huge amount of research needs to be done to reduce the chance of investing in a stinker. Of-course, you can get round this by taking advice from trusted and knowledgeable individuals. As of the beginning of 2011, though, even the experts are struggling to see clearly. The year could be a really good one in the stock market, or another calamitous one.
3) Gold
A trusted short term investment – you can store gold in electronic format, which means that you don’t have to physically deal with a block of priceless metal! This is a safe investment option, easy to do, and almost no research is required. In addition, gold continues to be the choice of experts so you will have the backing of the people who know!
4) Mutual Funds
Mutual funds for short term investments are in abundance. Just watch the set up fees though – if your investment is very short term it might not be worth it if the fees are not low.
5) High yield savings accounts
Shop around and you might find something worthwhile, despite the notoriously low interest rates offered by many banks at the moment. Make sure you are aware of the penalties for the early (or eventual) withdrawal of funds. Many banks offer money market deposit accounts, and these pay a higher rate of interest than standard accounts, whilst maintaining the liquidity of your money. These accounts would require a minimum balance, and you would have to determine how many transactions a month you want to do (if any) when opening the account.