[ad_1] Looking for the best ways to invest $100k? The guide below will provide a number of trustworthy methods. If you’ve got $100,000 available to invest, you’re doing better than the vast majority of Americans. The median American household currently only has about $11,700 between their bank accounts and retirement savings! So you’re definitely in a good place. But figuring out how to invest that much money can also be tough, especially if it’s a windfall and you haven’t saved it up slowly over time. Luckily, there are lots of excellent options around right now that let you easily diversify this big investment. If you’re not sure how to diversify your investments, check out this article on asset allocation. Then, use some of these options below to help yourself build the diverse, robust investment portfolio that works best for you. Investment Type Best For Robo advisors Broadly-diversified, hands-off investing Stocks Higher returns and a more controlled portfolio Real estate Passive income Peer-to-peer lending High-risk/high-reward returns Savings Safety net or emergency fund Related: How to Invest Your First $10,000 in the Smartest Ways 1. Robo Advisors One thing you’ll likely learn as you figure out your investment allocation is that you should put a good portion of your $100,000 in low-cost mutual funds and similar investments. These options keep your investing costs low, which is essential. And while they’re tied to the market and can have good growth, they’re also less risky than buying individual stocks. You can go with a traditional investment advisor to buy these types of funds, but your costs will likely be higher. So one of the best options is to choose a robo advisor. These automated investing services are able to manage loads of investments at once and make algorithm-driven decisions. This means their costs are much lower, which can lead to much more growth of your investments over the long run. As technology gets better and better, more and more robo advisors are popping up. One of our favorites is Betterment. However, if you have as much as $100,000 to invest, you might be better off with Wealthfront, which offers lower pricing for higher net worth investors. That said, the services are quite similar, so check out our comparison here to decide between them. Another option is M1 Finance, which is a free-to-use robo advisor. However, it has a limited number of investing options available. It does give you almost 2,000 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to choose from, so that may be plenty of choices for you. Though with $100,000 to invest, you may want to put some of your money with M1 and some with other options to keep your portfolio diverse. Related: M1 Finance Review – A Free Robo Advisor with a Twist If you’re interested in socially responsible investing, Wealthsimple could be another robo advisor to check out. It’s good for new and small investors and lets you invest in companies who are pursuing goals that are important to you, including supporting local initiatives, gender diversity, and promoting affordable housing. Wealthsimple has higher management fees than many of the options listed here, but its specialized portfolios may be worth the cost for you. Also Read: Best Robo Advisors 2. Stock Investments Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in mutual funds or some other options, but it’s still a good way to diversify your portfolio and potentially increase your overall earnings. However, you’ll need a platform through which to buy and sell stock investments. Related: 5 Golden Rules for Choosing the Best Stock Luckily, you’ve got plenty of options for that, too. One option is Ally Invest, an online discount broker that lets you trade individual stocks for no fee. It’s a great no-fee option and competitors like E*Trade and TD Ameritrade have also adopted a no trade fee platform. AND, these options also allow you to trade individual stocks so that you can build your own portfolio. If you have this much money to invest, you probably only want to put a small portion of it into stocks. And you’ll want to be sure you’re staying up-to-date on the market so that you can make trades, or buy and hold appropriate stocks, that suit your needs. Also Read: The Best Online Stock Trading Sites for Beginners 3. Real Estate In some areas of the country, $100,000 is more than enough to buy an investment property and become an individual landlord. And if this money is just part of your portfolio, that’s sometimes a great idea. But if $100,000 represents all your investable cash, you probably shouldn’t tie all of it up in a single property. However, you can invest in real estate along with other investors in order to bring diversity to your portfolio and, in some cases, get a fairly quick return on your investment. Platforms like Fundrise and Realty Mogul are crowdfunding platforms for real estate investment. This means that you invest in real estate projects and properties along with potentially hundreds of other investors. Each offers slightly different types of investments. Realty Mogul lets you purchase shares in an LLC or LP that invests in a property. It offers pre-vetted investments and a low investment minimum. Fundrise has an excellent track record of great returns, and offers investment options through REITs, which are ways to invest in a diverse portfolio of real estate. You have to be accredited to invest in Realty Mogul but not to invest in Fundrise. In the United States you have to have a net worth of at least $1 million, excluding the value of your primary residence, or have an income of at least $200,000 per year ($300,000 if you’re married) for at least the last two years to be an accredited investor. If you don’t meet this criteria, Fundrise is your best bet for investing in real estate. 4. P2P Lending Lending your money is another option for getting a good return. Again, this is one that used to only be open