Best way to invest a large sum of cash

If for arguments sake, you had 1m to invest, what would be the best way to get a good annual return? Very open ended question I know, but what I would really like to know is what one could expect in terms of percentage growth anually compared to just sticking it in a savings account.

Say a savings account would return 5% before tax, what's a faily risk free option either short or long term that would return a higher rate than that?

James

I'm sure others more knowledgeable than I about such things could give you more information, but I think the main thing you have to consider is what exactly you mean by "fairly risk free". As a general rule, the higher the potential returns, the greater the risk. If I had that sort of money to invest, then personally I'd probably spread it around a mix of different investments such as high-interest savings accounts, shares, and property, so that I wouldn't be to exposed to the risks in any one of those things.

And this probably goes without saying, but I seek professional advice from a good IFA.

Adam

Over 106 years property and equities return about 6% real (above inflation). Probability of equity outperformance vs. cash ranges from

Within equities there's plenty of evidence that adopting value strategies (one or more of - low price to book value, low price to earnings ratio (P/E), high dividend yield, low price to sales ratio), increases those returns by 50%

Daytona