starting investments

How much background do you have regarding investing? I am not an investor (besides retirement) although I am working on developing some sound knowledge to become one. I suggest if you want to avoid risk, similar to me, then do whatever is necessary to educate yourself on investing opportunities.

I have completed some simple tasks that the board has suggested, such as invest to the company match in a 401K and develop an emergency fund. I have yet to start a Roth IRA , that is next on my checklist.

I am tempted to dump the majority of the money I plan on using for investing opportunities into CDs. This will at least improve my interest rates on my money over what savings provides, while I tinker around (procrastinate) with what gives me the most confidence to start out in.

With your age, it will be good to experience the highs and lows of the stock market without exposing yourself to a huge amount of capital. When you say you want a large long term return with minimal risk, that is an impossibility to describe, as those terms mean different things to different people.

I would suggest first taking some type of investor profile. This will help you understand your actual risk tolerance. Everybody wants to minimize their market risk, however everybody has different levels that they see as acceptable.

Once you have figured that out, then you can start doing some actual research into what type of investment vehicles you may find suitable.

Curious though, what were you looking into that seemed like a ponzi scheme?