Vanguard investment

amother

OP ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 2:00 pm

Hi.

I put 6k into a new Vanguard account in 2022 on my own and I just left it there. I thought Vanguard invests it for me but I'm not sure anymore.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
Do I need to decide what to do with the money that's there or does Vanguard do it for me? I got $400 since. I don't know if it's good or not.

This is what it's showing:

Can anyone tell me what I should do?

amother

Sage ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 2:01 pm

No, it’s not an app that does everything for you. You need an investment manager to help you make decisions for that.

amother

↑ Sage

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 2:02 pm

amother Hotpink wrote:

Yes, you need to invest it.

Very broad answer. Stocks? Bonds? Indexes? There’s a lot of options out there.

emhabonimsmecha

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 2:28 pm

amother Sage wrote:

No, it’s not an app that does everything for you. You need an investment manager to help you make decisions for that.

How do you find a good investment manager? How much is it?

amother

Chambray

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 2:42 pm

You need to choose your investments, it doesn't automatically invest it for you. You don't necessarily need a financial adviser, you can pick mutual funds etc yourself. If you're not sure what to choose an adviser can help you.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 3:09 pm

amother Stoneblue wrote:

You can choose an index fund like the person above. e.g. a fund that mirrors the s&p 500.

Like what?
For someone who knows nothing, how do I do this?

2 more questions:
1. Is there a chance of losing money too or does Vanguard make sure to only invest in good portfolios? I know there's always a risk but overall did ppl actually lose ever?

2. will I get more than $400 over 2 yrs if I invest it myself?

amother

↑ Razzmatazz ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 3:12 pm

amother OP wrote:

There’s always a chance of losing money. The market goes up and down over the years. You very lilely will make more than 400 over 2 yrs
Correct me if I’m wrong but vanguard doesn’t invest it for you, you need to choose your own portfolios. If you’re not sure you can get a professional to do it for you

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 3:17 pm

amother Razzmatazz wrote:

So I guess the $400 I got was interest only.
I would love to get a pro - but do you know how much they take?
I think Vanguard has some sort of robo financial advisor - does it do a good job?
or there's an option that Vanguard should choose your target mix based on questions they ask you - is that a good option? Anyone from their experience?

Thanks everyone for your help. I don't have a clue with these things

amother

↑ Razzmatazz

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 3:19 pm

amother OP wrote:

We priced someone who was 250 for a consultation and after that 200 a session
S&P 500 is a safe choice if you don’t want to hire someone, it’s 500 of the highest stocks and it’s constantly changing and picking a different 500

amother

↑ OP

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 3:28 pm

amother Razzmatazz wrote:

Wow thanks, will look into this more

amother

Brickred

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 4:28 pm

I pay a company to manage my investments 🙈. I set it up through them, and they invest it through fidelity investments.
I transfer a set every amount every month, and the company decides how to invest.
I did fill out a whole lot of forms when I set it up years ago wether it's long term/short term etc...
And I don't go through my statements, b"h I don't need the money now, so it doesn't matter how much is in there. It's been sitting for many years...

BoomChickaPop

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 4:41 pm

It says your money was in short term reserves which might mean treasury money market type of account and interest rates are high so you made 400. Vanguard has an s and p 500 fund called VOO. If you leave it in VOO for the long term then I would call it safe, if you need the money in 2 years then you may want to leave it in the short term reserves cuz you will not risk losing any of your money that way.