Looking for long-term strategies for Roth IRA

[Logan Allec]

You're 27 and have $50k cash in your Roth.  You can't make any more contributions due to IRS limitations.  What's the best way to grow this pup into a beast over the next 30 years?  What would your allocation be?  I was 100% in stocks from 2009 - 2015 and they served me well but I've been wary of jumping back into the market heading in 2016.

Would you always have at least a little bit in stocks/bonds?  Would you put any in a robo-advisor like Betterment or Wealthfront?  Is it too early in life for me to be thinking about investing in notes?  I'm very curious about this last question as a part of me feels that I have time to count on significant appreciation in whatever I invest in over the next 30 years, but then again lots of people smarter and wiser than I am talk about notes a lot around here.

I feel like your typical financial advisor would just tell you to put it in a diversified portfolio at Fidelity or Vanguard or even one of these robo-advisors while ignoring real estate-based investments like notes.  So that's why I'm asking you folks.

[Justin R.]

I've got about a decade on you, but my personal approach has been to leave Roth and 401k in the market (traded shares, including stocks, MLPs, and funds). This is my passive, reliable retirement plan.

My active, taxable investments are all in hard real estate, notes, and some other active small business stuff. Combined, those 3 produce a very nice tax story.

Good luck, and glad you're thinking along these lines while you're still early in your career.