Where I would invest $10k

As interesting as a $10,000 windfall sounds, it could also quickly turn into a source of great stress if you don’t know what to do with it. That’s the unique quality of owning money – just owning it isn’t enough, it needs to constantly work for you.

The key to investing, however, is to know a few of the basics, such as setting an investment objective based on your personal circumstances. This is not about just a number but also about your personal beliefs, length of time you are investing for, your risk appetite, ability to access information about your investment and the control you want to have over your investment in terms of withdrawal.

Read the disclosure documents – even quickly scanning them could save you hundreds of dollars. Past returns are not indicators of future returns, but you surely wouldn’t want to invest in anything without a track record.

I deem myself to be a moderate risk-taking investor and only invest in investment vehicles I understand well. I would split my investment into a ratio of 5:3:2: •

50% as an additional contribution to my super fund. I haven’t made any contributions in the past few months as I have been on maternity leave. By contributing this sum to my super, not only am I adding more money to my retirement savings, but I am also doing so at minimal cost. My super fund has a total expense ratio of about 1%pa. •

30% into exchange traded products. They are one of the fastest growing segments of the financial market in Australia. I’d pick a high-performing, multi-asset, diversified product. •

20% into direct stocks. Investing in the sharemarket myself instead of through an online agent or broker means taking on more risk and having greater control. To be clear, I am not a stock picker, but since this is the smallest segment of the portfolio, there is less to lose and so less to worry about.