I’m 37 and won a settlement. I maxed out my IRA. How do I invest the $21,000 I have left?

After successfully maxing out your IRA, the remaining $21,000 presents a great opportunity to further build your wealth. While an IRA offers significant tax advantages, other investment avenues can complement your portfolio, focusing on growth, income, or liquidity depending on your personal financial goals and timeline. Diversification across different asset classes is key to managing risk and optimizing returns, even with a relatively smaller sum. For this $21,000, consider opening a standard brokerage account. Within this account, you could explore a few options. A broadly diversified exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks a major index, such as the S&P 500, offers exposure to a wide range of companies with relatively low fees. Alternatively, if you have a longer time horizon and a higher risk tolerance, you might allocate a portion to individual stocks in sectors you believe have strong growth potential, though this requires more research and carries higher risk. For a more conservative approach or shorter-term needs, high-yield savings accounts or certificates of deposit (CDs) could be considered, though their returns typically lag behind equity investments. Before making any decision, assess your comfort level with risk and clarify your investment objectives for this specific sum. Engaging with a financial advisor could provide personalized guidance tailored to your overall financial picture. The next step is to research specific funds or assets that align with your chosen strategy and execute the investments.