If you like trading stocks for the fun of it, then by all means, go for it, but if you want true risk aversion and a healthy return on investment, try looking into annuities. My Dad is a financial planner, and he seems to think they are the way to go for people that don't want to bear out total market risk, but yet, don't want to keep their money under their mattress (aka a bank savings account/CD). They're basically a contract with an insurance company in which you pay into the contract for a set period of time, the insurance company invests the money for you, the money grows, then after the stated period in the contract, you withdraw from the annuity an equal amount of money every month. The great thing is they give you a low limit on the interest you will gain from it, EVEN if the company loses money on the deal. But if they get a return greater than the low limit, you still get that increase. Granted, you won't be seeing 200% return on investment like you may with an individual stock, but you also won't lose it. And, when your 100% retired, you will get a monthly check in the mail. There are great tax incentives with them as well kind of like a Roth IRA, where you pay your income tax on the money you put into the annuity up front, and then draw from it at the end tax free.
[ January 16, 2004, 01:33 PM: Message edited by: Drew99GT ]
[ January 16, 2004, 01:33 PM: Message edited by: Drew99GT ]