I have some money I'm transfering from an old bank account. I'd look to look at the possibility of investing this. If so what should I need to know and what sort of options do I have?

Hi Maisy: It really depends on what your goals are. Are you looking to invest long term? If you are, I would suggest quality, no load stock mutual funds. If you need the money in the near future, the stock market is always a risk. But in the long term, history shows us the stock market is the best place to be.

Agreed, Belson is on the mark - you really need to look at what your investing aims and objectives are - and also what level of risk you would consider as acceptable.

If you're looking to invest in the long-term then mutual funds are the way to go. When investing in mutual funds, you are typically investing for the long term. This means you should attempt to broadly diversify your portfolio. What I mean by this is buying Growth and Income funds in the Large, Medium and Small cap areas. I would also suggest a portion of holdings in Bond funds (again this can be further diversified)(T Rowe has some good ones as well) and possibly specialty funds, such as gold.

Keep in mind that when you are buying a fund you are purchasing a manager's guidance. The underlying stocks are almost meaningless. Think of a mutual fund as you and thousands of your friends all hiring the same stockbroker.