Where should I put my 25K into as a University Student?

Given that the economy is slowing down, if I am the one with spare $25k, I will keep as CASH first for the next 12 months. Once a big recession hit, I will buy stocks and forget about it for the next 1-4 years.

If you do not need this money urgently, I will say this is a good move.

Unless you have a business that can generate higher returns than stocks

At your age, you have a relatively long investment runway compared to others.

I note that you have invested the bulk into bonds and a small portion in Robo investments.

You should note that Robo investments typically allocate some of your investments into bonds or fixed income instruments. So it is duplication for you to invest the bulk into bonds while investing in a Robo. Also, it would appear that your risk profile is highly conservative. This seems counterintuitive as you are very young. It would be useful for you to re-assess your risk profile.

In doing so, note that most people do not do what they say. Conventional risk profiling poses technical questions which some people may not fully understand. Hence, their answers may not be accurate and neither is the resulting risk profile assessed.

Try to use unbiased risk profiling tools which assess your personality and risk-reward behaviour. Using such a tool that will analyse your risk-reward attitude and is a critical step to start your investing journey.

Try the gamified risk profiler that I created at www.squirrelsave.com.sg

Investing in bonds may be chunky as many bonds require a fixed minimum sum. You will also incur charges (spreads) from the bond dealer. There is no liquid secondary market unless you can move big sums. And if you do need to move out of the bonds, you will face potentially hefty bond dealer charges.

As for your intent to invest 25K and query about financial advisers, note that there are fees and charges apart from the tendency for advisers to sell products which earn them commissions. Hence, do ask upfront about the fees, charges and commissions.

Perhaps you should leverage technology and investing globally using a digital investment manager who is fully automated - where you don’t have to make decisions except how much to invest. My view from having managed other people's money professionally is that investing should be about risk management first before chasing returns. Yet, I know I can't do that. It is humanly not possible. I need to sleep and have other activities that take my eyes off the markets which are 24/7 as the earth turns.

Investment risk with real-time data 24/7 is better done by machine learning AI than a human manager. Investing and diversifying globally requires massive data analytics, which is not humanly possible. Today, it can be easily done with computing power. So do reconsider how you have allocated your assets between bonds, Robo and a financial adviser. Such an allocation tends to be static. Otherwise, it requires you to review the allocation periodically. It is better to allocate all to a Robo which is fully AI and automated without the need for you to make day-to-day decisions. Such a digital investment service should employ dynamic asset allocation which continually seeks out more efficient portfolios which aims at the highest possible returns matched to the risks you are willing and able to take. Go to www.squirrelsave.com.sg!