re: starting investments

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?