$10,000 to invest. Do I need a Pro

[skives]

I have $10,000 to invest in a taxable account. I want these money to grow over the next 5-10 years for future needs like my next vehicle. I am currently looking at two index funds at fidelity FNCMX and FUSEX. I'm not specifically asking for advice on these index funds but do I need to talk to a professional before investing $10,000? If you do have any thoughts on these funds or talking to a professional I'd love to hear it.

Thanks

[Jluke]

No need to talk to a salesperson.

Do it yourself.

Just remember your 10k could be 5k in a matter of time. Knowing that risk ahead of time helps.

[Captain Save]

a lot of FA's don't even deal with amounts less than 6 figures.

[disneysteve]

You definitely don't need professional help.

That said, both of the funds you list are stock index funds. I would be really careful about putting money in either one of them that you expect to need in 5 years. We are in one of the longest bull markets in history. I'm no market timer but reality tells us that all bull markets end. Every Republican president since Teddy Roosevelt has had a recession occur during his first term. And recent volatility is certainly very concerning for the market in the immediate future.

I wouldn't be putting new money into stocks right now unless I had a much longer timeline. You don't want to go to buy that car in 5 years only to find that your 10K has become 6K.

[skives]

You definitely don't need professional help.

That said, both of the funds you list are stock index funds. I would be really careful about putting money in either one of them that you expect to need in 5 years. We are in one of the longest bull markets in history. I'm no market timer but reality tells us that all bull markets end. Every Republican president since Teddy Roosevelt has had a recession occur during his first term. And recent volatility is certainly very concerning for the market in the immediate future.

I wouldn't be putting new money into stocks right now unless I had a much longer timeline. You don't want to go to buy that car in 5 years only to find that your 10K has become 6K.

So would you just keep it in a online savings account?

[disneysteve]

So would you just keep it in a online savings account?

If I knew I'd need it in 5 years? I'd probably be doing an online account or maybe a CD. Online accounts are up to 1.6%. You can get a 1 or 2-year CD for up to about 2.5%. I wouldn't go any longer than that because interest rates may continue to rise and you'd lose out.

[msomnipotent]

$10,000 is the threshold for the better bonuses for a lot banks. You could open online accounts for the bonus and higher interest rate and then transfer when a better bonus comes along. Read the fine print. Some require signing up for direct deposit to get the bonus.