This is uselful discussion. I've just started investing but in mutual funds, where your investment is more secure and you can get 10-12% in return. I used Ameriprise but I think these financial advisors are a big rip off so though I kicked off, I'll be doing it on my own with Fidelity using their website. Since I'm a new investor, I'm taking it slow to get the feel of it. My method is dodge all fees and only pay what's required and not fall victim to financial advisors who mostly work on commission. If you have spare money let's say 2 - 5K, I think you should buy mutual funds and invest like $50 or $100 every month to that fund during the life of the fund which could be 3, 5, 10, 20, 40 years. And if you have more spare money that you can afford to loose, gamble it on the stock market and hope for the best. You don't have to follow it closely, just let it remain and be advised of taxes which can diminish your returns heavily. The wise thing about mutual funds is that you're not putting all your eggs in one basket like you do with stocks so the risk is less.