Read This Before Buying Any Financial Services: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)

With an expense ratio of just 0.09% of your assets per year, you can get exposure to the biggest companies in the world — and their dividends. On top of the sanity that that provides, you’ll be beating most actively managed funds for a fraction of the price!

Option 4: Do it yourself
Finally, we have the option for the DIY crowd. Speaking from experience, taking this approach can be rewarding both financially and educationally, and it’s the one that’s at the core of what The Motley Fool stands for.

But by no means is this option for everyone. You’ll find plenty of conflicting guidance and advice out there, and it can be hard to ferret out the truly valuable information from all the noise.

My advice when wading through all this information is to ease yourself in. Take time doing research into different sources and consider which ones are most valuable in helping you make smart decisions about your money. Make sure you’re aware of some of the most common investing biases.

No matter which of these four options works best for you, I truly hope you carefully consider your options for investing and make sure they fit with your temperament and long-term investing goals.

The article Read This Before Buying Any Financial Services originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Brian Stoffel.

Fool contributor Brian Stoffel has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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