How to Invest $20 Million Dollars For the Future15 min read

If you’re wondering how to invest $20 million dollars, you may be feeling stressed out. Don’t be, just calm down and take a breath.

The best way to invest $20 million depends on your circumstances. If you’re not prone to risk, then you will likely want to invest it in low-risk investments. But, an investment plan with $20 million could also include more high-risk investments such as investing in stocks, or even a capital injection directly into a startup.

Investing is risky, and you should always consult professionals before making decisions. This blog post is not professional investment advice, or any advice for that matter.

Things to Keep in Mind

If you’ve got $20 million and are wondering where to invest it, there are a few key factors to keep in mind when it comes to the best way to utilize it.

Every step you take needs to be well assessed and thoroughly researched. It’s very important to have a complete plan ready for your money, before making any drastic moves.

To make better investment decisions, you should take into consideration these three important factors.

Financial Aspirations and Goals

Before putting your money into any commitment, think about what you want and/or need to do with your money, at least in the coming years.

Everyone has different aspirations with their money, so before getting into any type of investment, you need to take a second to consider your wants and needs in the coming years.

It’s very important to take time in order to carefully consider your investments with respect to your desires. 

Some people just want to spend more time vacationing and traveling the world, while others want to assure their retirement plan is ready to go.

If you have children, you may even want to set aside some of your money to help them out with their education in the future.

If you’re able to consider what your financial goals are, coming up with a plan on how to invest $20 million will become easier.

Since this will be different for everybody, you may want to consider talking to a financial planner.

Set a Timeframe

You can never produce a thorough investment plan if you don’t have a set timeframe. Your financial aspirations will have be less effective if you don’t know how they end.

Setting up a timeframe would include setting a tentative date or year to a certain goal that you have for your finances.

Once that is taken care of, you can start putting aside your money and think of the right plans.

Depending on the goals you keep, segregate the long-term and short-term goals. A retirement plan would make your goal long-term, while an education fund could be one of your short-term goals.

Your goals will depend entirely on your age.

Determine Your Receptiveness to Risks

Just about any financial investment will bring risk. No matter how experienced you are, you can lose a lot of money from one poor investment.

The last thing you want to be with $20 million is careless. The investment vehicles you choose should align with how much of a risk you are willing to take. 

If you’re okay with the idea of a “high-risk high-reward investment”, then having those high-risk investments in your portfolio isn’t a bad idea.

However, if you’re more of a conservative investor, you should only include low-risk investment vehicles in order to maintain your mental health. If you’re susceptible to risk, making high-risk investments can produce an incredible amount of stress on you going forward.

That being said, the process of going about an investment method can vary greatly. As every individual has a different budget, there are no hard and fast rules to start your investment. Although there are certainly popular and easy methods through which you could invest your money and earn too. 

Choices of Investment Vehicles

With such a considerable amount of money to invest, you will likely want to diversify your investments.

What this essentially means is you should not put all of your eggs in one basket. If you put $20 million into one stock or fund, and then that entity crashes overnight, that would be devastating.

So, by splitting up $20 million amongst 5, 10, or even 20 different investments, you don’t have to worry nearly as much about one investment obliterating your net worth..

Crypto

Cryptocurrency is not something you can avoid anymore, it is a vehicle that has provided immense returns for thousands of people, who invest in it properly.

The key phrase being there is obviously investing in cryptocurrency properly. Do NOT try to day trade, swing trade, or scalp cryptocurrency, unless you have training and are fully aware of the potential risks.

If you don’t know what any of those mean, then all the more reason to stay away from it.

The best way to invest in the world of cryptocurrency, without knowing a lot about it, is to set and forget. There will be severe ups and downs no matter what cryptocurrency you pick, so if you invest in cryptocurrency and then just allow it to sit, that will be your best bet.

If you don’t know where to trade, I recommend checking out Binance for their beginner-friendly interface and competitive rates.

The top cryptocurrency to look into are BTC, ETH, andADA. These are some of the more mainstream cryptocurrencies, which move along with the general sentiment of the cryptocurrency market.

Do not invest any money in cryptocurrency that you may need to take out in the short-term. Only invest money that you are okay to allow it to sit and grow for an extended amount of time (the longer the better).

Most investment professionals would advise investing no more than 5% of your entire portfolio in cryptocurrency. This does not mean they advise investing 5%, but no more than 5%.

Signing up for Binance and poking around their interface is a great way to introduce yourself to the world of cryptocurrency, and investing in the 3 we mentioned earlier—BTC, ETH, ADA—is a great addition to any portfolio.

Lend to a Private Party

One way to earn interest on your money is by becoming a private money lender. Across the world, there are lots of people looking to get into the real estate market, but lack the capital required to get started.

If you aren’t interested in getting into real estate yourself, but would like to earn the interest that is possible through it, you can loan it to someone that has a thorough plan for your money.

The key word there is thorough. By loaning your money, you are susceptible to borrower default, if the person you borrow to cannot pay back their loan.

This is the same system that banks use to earn. They take money from their customers that deposit it with them. The borrowers, when applying for loans, get this money with a certain interest rate. The extra money, when collected apart from the principal amount, goes to the bank. 

In the same way, if you lend some percentage of 20 million dollars to the borrower, you will hopefully earn a larger amount than your principal amount, once the loan is actualized.

The amount you earn, however, will depend on the time limit and the interest rate you set. 

Although this is a convenient option for many, some might take this as a risky option. As there is an organization guarding your private system, you could lose a great deal of money.

You need to make sure that you are working with a borrower that seems trustworthy, smart, and likely to be able to pay back the loan, with interst.

You also need to make sure that you don’t skip any steps in the legal process. Don’t just give away your money; you need collateral too (maybe the real estate that the borrower is purchasing).

If you’d like to learn more about private money lending, check out this great guide written by The Motley Fool.

Invest in a Business

Start Your Own Business

If you currently own your own business, it goes without saying that you could potentially invest in your current business.

But, if you don’t currently run a business, you may want to consider starting your own business.

Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, but if you have ever wanted to run your own business, then $20 million provides a fantastic boost for just about any business that you may potentially want to start.

Investing in a business is an obvious strategy, and at the same time, not an obvious investment strategy to consider.

We recommend checking out Flippa for digital businesses for sale, with many requiring little to no work.

Many Flippa businesses are selling for 36x monthly profit, so your initial investment is paid off after only 3 years, assuming the business you buy has no growth. After that, it is just pure profit.

This is one fantastic way to earn passive income.

Fund Someone Else’s Business

There are more than 627,000 businesses that are started every year.

Funding someone else’s business, in return for either equity in the company, royalties, or whatever you decide on, can be a great investment tool.

One of the best parts about investing in a business, especially someone else’s business, is that you eliminate the need for your labor. This is called angel investing, where you provide a large capital injection for a company and aren’t required to do any further work in the company.

If you find a business idea that is poised for growth, by giving them a chunk of investment money and signing a few papers, you can become an equity partner in the company.

If you do thorough research, including potential profits and risk assessments, you can make great gains through angel investing. 

In some cases, the company does even better than your expectations and will earn you substantial passive income. Although, make sure to weigh your options wisely. As investing in a startup could be risky; going through their idea and plans is crucial. 

This in conjunction with the fact that most startups don’t do very well in their initial years, can add up to substantial risk. Some take years to achieve a brand name in the market.

Also keep in mind, that there is often no collateral as such that can involve in business loans.

Due to the risky nature of angel investing, only those that can handle risky investments should even consider this investment vehicle. 

Real Estate

Economies that are developing give a great scope for real estate investment. The property rates in these markets seem to be ever-increasing, and the investment opportunity always seems great.

Investing in real estate can be a good option, both for new investors and seasoned veterans alike. Real estate also has the ability to provide great returns.

Most real estate investors aim to make at least 10%-12% returns on their money. There are 3 main ways to make money in the real estate market.

The first is to buy a property, and sit on it until you can sell it at a profit. Some, more passive investors, will continually buy one property to live in and sell it at a profit, and repeat this process over and over.

This is a more passive method, as you don’t have to worry about tenants, keeping tabs on several properties, or any other hassles that come with being a landlord.

The secret to making a return using this method is to buy the property at a steep discount, which can be difficult when the real estate market is hot.

Another way to make use of real estate is to buy a property and rent it out. The obvious benefit of this strategy is you will be earning rent cheques throughout the year.

You need to do your due diligence, and figure out your average rental income and expenses with each property, to determine which will be the most profitable.

The last is to invest in an REIT. An REIT stands for a real estate investment trust. It operates in a similar way to a stock, and allows you to earn close to average returns in the market, without doing any of the heavy lifting that comes with real estate.

Savings Account

Although a savings account is not the most attractive option, it is considered to be the safest option on this list. If you park your money in one of these accounts, you’ll earn a measly amount of interest, but your money will be safe.

You should look into both government and local banks and research the top interest rates for accounts of high values.  

Through online banking, you can interact and take care of your finances from any location. For many activities, you won’t need to worry about the distance to the bank or lengthy wait times. All you need is your phone and internet connection, and you are good to go. 

Remember, you don’t always have to invest a very large amount in applying for a savings account. You can often put as much or as little as you’d like.

You can even try splitting your money into more than one bank to enjoy different interest rates and perks.

Our top recommendation is the CIT Bank Savings Builder account. By depositing just $100 per month, or maintaining a balance of $25k, you instantly earn their highest interest rate of 0.45%.

Go for Bonds

Many people prefer going for bonds as this option is also very safe, and it is very unlikely you will lose your money. As the government in most countries keep a close eye on bonds, your return on investment is very likely. 

When investing $20 million, you only need to earn a small return in order to make good money. So, although bonds don’t provide a huge return, they can help you to earn a substantial amount of money, with little risk. 

But this also allows you to invest your money without constant attention required, as bonds are typically less time-intensive than other investment means.

Pooling Your Money

Another interesting way to invest your money into something meaningful, safe, and profitable is to pool your money. The process is called crowdfunding and is a great way to mitigate risk by sharing it amongst others.

A group of individuals get together and put their money into a small business, real estate, or another investment vehicle. By pooling your money with others, your potential risk and profits are going to be split amongst your new partners.

Crowdfunding investments’ payout period can range from just a few weeks all the way up to a few years, depending on the investment that you make. It is typically the same type of investment, except everything is split between you and your partners.

Exchange Traded Funds

Exchange traded funds or ETFs can be a good way to park your cash if you are not into investing in the stock of a single company. Through ETFs, you can put your money into a “pool” of stocks that may or may not belong to the same company. 

Through this means, you not only diversify your investment portfolio but also decrease the chance of facing risks. As different stocks drop on different days, the overall impact of the drop will likely be minimized by the overall rise of other stocks.

When you invest in these types of funds, your money will typically move alongside the overall market sentiment. 

The Bottom Line

Keeping 20 million dollars in your pocket is not the best option. There are many investment vehicles that take little to no work, and are not extremely risky, such as bonds, ETF’s, and REIT’s.

Through the above-mentioned investment vehicles, you can put your $20 million to work for you, and have it earning you money around the clock.

Do make sure to check out every method properly and compare its intricacies with your wants and needs. Even when you have the slightest of doubts, question the potential profits and whether or not you will earn an appropriate return.

Just so you know, this article may contain affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend tools that we have used and recommend.

Legal Disclaimer: This Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. As always, you should consult professionals before making any decisions. 

Nothing contained on our blog constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Self Improvement Base or any third party service provider to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

Josiah Brown

Josiah Brown is a 20-year-old Entrepreneur and writer who is on a life-long journey of experiencing and learning.