Where is the best place to invest with today’s volatile market?  It is hard to know with real estate bubbles popping, stock market daily crashes of 600 + points, and quarterly losses equaling five years of investments.  Everyone has a different comfort level when it comes to investments, but everyone wants to come out ahead.

The hardest aspect of investing is knowing where to put your money.  Do you stick it under your mattress, invest in stocks and bonds, or do you invest in real estate?  If you talk to a 401k investment broker they will tell you the best place for your money is the stock market, if you talk to a real estate broker they will tell you the best place for your money is the real estate market.  Which is the truth?

The truth is that they are both right.  The best thing for your retirement it to diversify.  Don’t risk everything on one endeavor, especially not in today’s market.  Even though the markets have been swinging wildly lately, they somehow still manage to rise when analyzing a six-month graph.  Historically, the market has made money in any 10-year cycle.  There are definite swings, but if you stick it out for the long haul, the market usually makes money.  With a one year in four-loss record, the market should, if it follows the same trend it has for the last 100 years, make money this year.

Real estate is also a gamble.  Is the market at a low or is it still dropping?  What are interest rates going to do?  If you wait to buy, will interest rates climb?  Along with a 401k investment broker, talk to a real estate broker you trust.  Rentals are a good investment right now, if, again, you are in for the long haul.  Analyst are predicting further drops in real estate for a couple more years and then there will be a slow increase.

Get the best facts available from a 401k-investment broker and a real estate broker to diversify your money.  Then relax and don’t watch too closely until the markets stabilize in the next couple of years.  Protect your retirement by diversifying your investment portfolio.