I'm 36 yr old single male. Just recently bought my first house. Put 20% down on 100K house. Recently (last 18months) my income has tripled and I am finding that I have a lot of cash and not sure where to go with it. I opened up some Vanguard mutual funds. I contribute to my companies 401K. I am putting all my investments into stocks at this point. I have a very high tolerance for volatility. High risk=High reward is ok with me. Any ideas on any aggressive stocks or funds to get into. Have only about $5k to utilize right now.
Now What?
- Thread starter frey33
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ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
Welcome to the forum! 
It sounds like you are a candidate to go 100% equities with this $5000 to invest (sounds like you had a strong stomach for the last market crash), but what I would suggest (assuming it will be in your Vanguard account) would depend on what your current asset allocation is with respect to U.S. versus international stocks and small caps versus large caps.
I'd apply the $5000 to whichever equity asset class you are most underweight in at the moment.
It sounds like you are a candidate to go 100% equities with this $5000 to invest (sounds like you had a strong stomach for the last market crash), but what I would suggest (assuming it will be in your Vanguard account) would depend on what your current asset allocation is with respect to U.S. versus international stocks and small caps versus large caps.
I'd apply the $5000 to whichever equity asset class you are most underweight in at the moment.
Urchina
Full time employment: Posting here.
Welcome to the forums!
Don't forget your emergency fund first -- you didn't mention it in your first post. As a single guy with a mortgage, you'll need plenty of cushion should you fall ill, lose your job, etc. Maybe 6 - 12 months of living expenses? You could work toward this as you invest, if you wanted to DCA into the market right now. You should also look into disability insurance -- your job may supply this, but if you don't get it through your job, it makes sense to get it privately, since disability that affects our ability to earn a living is a real concern for most of us.
Your emergency fund should be in cash and cash equivalents -- money market funds, CDs, etc.
After that, what Ziggy said.
Don't forget your emergency fund first -- you didn't mention it in your first post. As a single guy with a mortgage, you'll need plenty of cushion should you fall ill, lose your job, etc. Maybe 6 - 12 months of living expenses? You could work toward this as you invest, if you wanted to DCA into the market right now. You should also look into disability insurance -- your job may supply this, but if you don't get it through your job, it makes sense to get it privately, since disability that affects our ability to earn a living is a real concern for most of us.
Your emergency fund should be in cash and cash equivalents -- money market funds, CDs, etc.
After that, what Ziggy said.
Coach
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
If I were in your shoes, once the emergency fund is taken care of, and assuming you don't have any debts other than your mortgage, I'd maximize my 401k contribution and see if you're eligible to make IRA or Roth IRA contributions too.
Coach
Coach
I've got $12k in a higher yield money market fund and disabilty ins. through work. I carry no debt other than my mortgage. My 401k is maxed at work. Can i open a Roth IRA with AGI over $100k? Or should I just look into another aggressive mutual fund or single out a particular company to buy shares in? Again not fearing the volatility, got a long way to go before retirement.
Milton
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I can't help but notice that your current portfolio doesn't match your self-described risk profile. Broadly diversified indexing may or may not be suitable for you, but it is not "high risk, high reward".
If you are genuinely super aggressive and enjoy speculation, I would say pass on the stodgy old mutual funds and buy a focused, carefully chosen selection of microcap mining and/or tech stocks. You might want to explore options trading, too.
Im in a new situation with having disposable cash. I went initially into safer index funds for my base of investing. I am NOW looking for more aggresive avenues to pursue. I'm learning as I go, and appreciate any advice. Never invested before because I was living paycheck to paycheck. I have $5k that im willing to pursue more risky avenues with, again any advice is greatly appreciated.
Milton
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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That pretty much goes for all of us!
I suspect that most people on this board will be leery of providing recommendations for specific investments, especially those of an aggressive/speculative nature.
It would be easy to find a "professional" [-]salesperson[/-] advisor who will provide specific recommendations, but their suggestions likely contain a certain amount of self-interest. It is trite but true: ultimately, no one has your best interests at heart more than you do.
If I were in your shoes, I would not be in a rush and would spend the next few months acquiring a basic knowledge of what opportunities exist. There are plenty of good books available free at the library. To learn about options trading, see CBOE - Learning Center.
In the meantime, either build up a 'war chest' to be used when you have decided what to do, or (better, IMO) apply excess cash towards paying down your mortgage as quickly as possible.
