What’s best way to invest $1K?

Vanguard, Schwab are great for beginners

You don’t need a ton of money to start investing. Your $1,000 is more than enough to start with, and there are some great ways you can put that money to work.

The biggest drawback to starting with a relatively small amount of money is that buying individual stocks isn’t very practical. Brokerage commissions have certainly gotten cheaper, but a properly diversified portfolio should have five or six different stocks at a minimum.

However, by investing in mutual funds or ETFs (exchange-traded funds — basically mutual funds that trade like stocks), you can put nearly all $1,000 of your capital to work right away in high-potential investments.

For beginning investors, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is a great starting point. It invests in all 500 companies that make up the S&P 500 index and has a rock-bottom 0.04% expense ratio. This fund lets you benefit from the market’s gains, which have historically averaged nearly 10% per year, without too much exposure to any one stock.

If you’re younger and want to take a more growth-oriented approach, the Schwab U.S. LargeCap Growth ETF is just as inexpensive but focuses on growthoriented stocks.