Where to Invest Your Money after MaxingOut Your Retirement Account

.The IRS recently announced the contribution limits for IRAs, 401Ks and otherretirement plans for 2015. The contribution limits for standard IRA and 401Kaccounts are $12,500 and $18,000 a year, respectively.

While this may sound like a lot of money to a small investor, even the upper limitisn’t enough to help people save aggressively for retirement. The IRS does allow ahigher “catch-up” contribution limit for people over age 50, but many still reachthat cap prematurely.

If you’ve already reached the contribution limits for your retirement plan,alternative investments such as the Iraqi Dinar 2015 may help quickly build yourretirement nest egg.

The best alternative investments

Dividend reinvestment programs

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Many companies sell stocks with dividend reinvestment programs (DRIPs). Theseprograms automatically use dividends to purchase new shares of stock, whichallows you to grow your portfolio automatically.

There are two primary advantages of these programs: Investors can increase theirstock holdings every quarter without paying brokerage fees. And, they alsotypically receive a 1-10% discount on the spot price when buying a share of stockdirectly from the company, which further reduces the cost of investing.

DRIPs are a particularly good option for younger investors. A 22-year-old investing$50 each month into a DRIP will have $319,000 accrued by the time the time heor she turns 62.

On the other hand, although dividend discount plans offer a few advantages, theyalso come with several drawbacks. One of the biggest problems is that taxes aremuch more complicated. You’ll need to pay taxes on your dividends even thoughyou don’t receive them in cash. And, it usually takes many years to make asizeable profit from DRIPS.

In contrast, investments in the Iraqi Dinar have a relatively-low entry cost andcould realize far larger gains in a shorter period of time if the Dinar is revaluedupward.

Mutual funds

Mutual funds are an excellent investment vehicle for people who want somegrowth with relatively low risk. Mutual fund managers allocate money in a varietyof different financial instruments and hope for the best results. In most cases,investment returns are ho-hum at best.Investors can also choose funds that contain mixtures of debt securities as well asequities, and other assets. Mutual funds allocate capital to different types offinancial instruments. For example, some mutual funds will allocate 50% of theirfunds to stocks and the remaining portion to bonds.

Different asset allocation models tend to offer different results. Portfolios with agreater emphasis on equities tend to have somewhat higher returns.

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According to data from Vanguard, the average historical returns of their mutualfunds that allocated 80% of capital to stocks were 9.6%, compared to the paltry5.5% returns generated from mutual funds were made up exclusively of bondinvestments.

So, stock-heavy mutual funds may be a good option for aggressive investors thatneed to build a nest egg for retirement.

The downside with stock-dominated mutual funds is that they tend to be highlyvolatile. Stocks are even more volatile in today’s markets, which places investorsat great risk. Nowadays, any major economic news, such as the end of the FederalReserve’s monetary stimulus, could spark another stock market crash.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs)

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are investment funds which pool investorresources to purchase, manage and rent properties. They are decently-performinginvestment vehicles that can provide good retirement income for some people.

According to data from the FTSE, the average annual return of REITs between1971 and 2013 was 11.44%. REITs will be a good investment as the housing andcommercial real estate markets recover. The housing market has consistently

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grown every month two years and a survey from the National Association ofHome Builders shows confidence has increased significantly.

Unfortunately, REIT values are highly volatile because of the thin market betweenbuyers and sellers. The values of REITs can decline quickly, and investors can losemoney if property values drop or vacancy rates increase.

Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)

TIPS are Government-issued debt securities that guarantee investors a real return.They are indexed to the rate of inflation, so they will generate a slight return eachyear. While they don’t offer high returns, they are a respectable investment to addto your portfolio to hedge against the risks of future inflation, if it occurs.

The drawback to investing in TIPS is that, although guaranteed, the returns areusually very small. Data from the U.S. Treasury shows that the real annual rate ofreturn on a 5-year inflation-protected bond is only 0.08%.

So, this type of investment is unlikely to help people near retirement age to “catchup” if they’re seriously short retirement funds. In comparison, the Dinar has thepotential to earn high returns on modestly-sized investments.

Defense and tech stocks

Years ago, investing in “defense stocks” seemed like the key to success – Americawas constantly fighting wars, and buying shares of the companies that provideddefense-related products and services was a sure-fire winning strategy.

But, times have changed: Graying Americans are more focused on funding theirretirements than on funding foreign wars to “keep us safe” here at home. Defenseindustries are stagnant. So, defense stocks aren’t much help nowadays if you wantto build a nest egg quickly.

Technology stocks tend to perform better than equities in other sectors. However,you should carefully screen these equities, because the glamor factor leads manyinvestors to choose technology securities without analyzing their long-termviability.

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Of course, previous “dotcom” and tech bubbles have burst because too manyinvestors bought e-commerce stocks without doing enough research first. Thebest bet is to purchase technology stocks with a sound business model, stablecustomer base, strong growth and good financial ratios. If chosen properly, techinvestments may yield good gains.

The biggest downside of technology stocks is that their values can be extremelyvolatile when any kind of economic or financial news is released. Tech stocks havea median beta score of 1.3. This means they appreciate about 30% more than theaverage stock price during a good economy and decrease 30% more than theaverage during a bad economy.

Tech stocks offer potential for good long-term returns, yet they can also be verystressful to hold during market downturns, when they give back most of their“paper” gains.

The Iraqi Dinar

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The Dinar is a great investment for retirement. The Iraqi economy is growingrapidly, so the currency will probably rise in the near future.

The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) is also said to be considering a revaluation of thecurrency to the equivalent of one Dollar per each Dinar. The Dinar is currentlytrading at a rate of 0.00086 relative to the Dollar. Therefore, the value of thecurrency would increase by 1,163 times. So, in the event of a 1:1 revaluation, foreach $1 invested the investment would be worth $1,163.

The Dinar may potentially yield a high return. Since it isn’t yet traded on globalexchanges, it hasn’t yet been discovered by most investors. Here are somepositive trends which favor the Dinar:

The Iraqi economy has been growing at a rate of about 8.5% a year, whichmakes it the sixth fastest-growing economy in the world

Iraq is boosting its trade surplus by increasing oil production and forgingnew compacts with China, the United States, Russia and other developednations

Political stability is growing in Iraq, which increases global investors’confidence

Shell, Pizza Hut, Sheraton and numerous other foreign companies areinvesting in Iraq because they understand the enormous opportunity

Institutional investors in developed countries are swarming into Iraq, drawnby eye-popping investment returns

The inflow of foreign investment money supports the value of the Dinar, sinceinternational investors must purchase IQD to fund all their purchases. The moreinvestors, the more the demand for the Dinar

Boost retirement account balances

These days, the Dinar is drawing plenty of attention from small investors. That’sbecause a growing number of Americans, Europeans and others are discoveringthat their retirement accounts are “short.” With only a few years left untilretirement, many small investors are turning to the Dinar for a better chance ofquickly boosting their savings.

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Beyond its potential for high gains, investors are also using the Dinar as anespecially good hedge against a future stock market or bond market crash.

Keep investing after retirement

The average American needs about $2 million to live comfortably during his or herretirement years. Fortunately, people are living longer, healthier lives well intoretirement. Unfortunately, many people start saving later in life, which makes itdifficult to save enough.

You should keep investing actively as long as possible, even after retirement. And,make sure that you consider alternative investments such as the Iraqi Dinar, whichoffer promising opportunities to build retirement savings quickly.

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