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The prospect of investing a large sum of money can be both exhilarating and daunting. With the right approach, there’s a potential for significant wealth growth, but there’s also inherent risk involved. The importance of sound asset diversification and risk management can’t be overstated. They can help you navigate through the challenges of investing. This is why you may want to consult with a financial advisor to help you find the right types of investments that will help you reach your unique long-term goals.

Strategies for Investing a Large Lump Sum of Money

There are several strategies when it comes to investing a large sum of money. Each strategy carries its own set of pros and cons and picking the right one depends on your specific financial goals, risk tolerance and understanding of the investment market.

• Dollar-Cost Averaging: Dollar-cost averaging, a form of regular systematic investment, is one common approach to consider. It involves investing a fixed amount of money at regular intervals, regardless of the price. For instance, investing $1,000 every month in a mutual fund benefits you by letting you purchase more units when the price is low and fewer when it is high.

• Lump-Sum Approach: A riskier, yet potentially rewarding strategy is the lump-sum approach. It is about investing the entire amount at once. This approach often benefits from the guidance of a financial advisor due to the high risk associated with market fluctuations.

• Asset Allocation Planning: Asset allocation planning is a strategy for diversifying your investments across different asset classes. It’s designed to protect against market volatility and spread risk, but the structure of a diversified portfolio should align with an individual’s risk tolerance and goals. In this context, a financial advisor can provide invaluable guidance.

• Market-Timing: Market-timing is another strategy that involves predicting market movements and acting accordingly. However, due to its complexity, an inability to know the future and high level of risk involved, involving a financial expert or advisor could prove essential when adopting this approach. Market timing often fails to deliver what a passive index fund delivers.

• Working With a Financial Advisor: To understand different investment strategies and their implications fully, working with a financial advisor can be profoundly beneficial. They can provide personalized guidance to meet your financial goals and risk tolerance, helping you create a robust investment plan.

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What You Can Invest a Lump Sum In

When it comes to investing your lump sum, there is no shortage of options, and the importance of investing in a diverse range of assets shouldn’t be overlooked. Ultimately, your choice depends on your financial objectives, risk tolerance and investment time frame.

• Bonds: Bonds are essentially loans to a company or government. In exchange for your investment, you receive regular interest payments. Note that the return of the principal at maturity is not always guaranteed.

• Mutual funds: Mutual funds can provide balance in your portfolio as they are often a strong long-term investment. Broad mutual funds can provide value by investing in multiple investments at the same time as well as in multiple industries. Many mutual funds have a focus area, like ESG investing, so it could benefit you to invest in multiple funds.

• ETFs: Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are similar to mutual funds as you can invest in multiple stocks at once. Many ETFs track an index but can provide a good amount of balance that you seek.

• Real Estate: You can invest large amounts of money directly into real estate investments that can grow in value over time. You also might be able to invest in properties that can return income throughout your investment hold period in the form of rent from tenants.

You can essentially invest your money into anything you would like. However, the above options provide a balance and relatively safe investment environment for you to build your wealth with the money you’re investing over time.

What to Watch Out for When Investing a Large Sum of Money

Investing large sums carries inherent challenges and risks. While diversification and strategic asset allocation can help mitigate these, they can’t entirely eliminate the risks created by market volatility, inflation and interest rate changes. It’s important to have someone in your corner that understands these types of investments and has a history of investing large sums of money, especially if you’re not.

Bottom Line

The secret to successfully investing large sums lies in a clear understanding of your financial goals, a well-planned investment strategy and a keen awareness of potential risks. We can’t emphasize enough the importance of either conducting your own extensive research or consulting a financial advisor for a personalized investment plan. While compounding interest is great, it’s not a guarantee. Remember to work with a professional and make sure you’re prepared for changes in the market.

Tips for Investing

• Whenever you want to see great returns over a long period of time, regardless of how much money you’re investing, you may want to work with a financial advisor. They can provide unique insight and help that you just won’t have on your own. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

• One of the best tools to help you in your investing efforts is SmartAsset’s investment return calculator. You can estimate what your investments might look like over time.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen, ©iStock.com/Kobus Louw, ©iStock.com/silverkblack

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