Mel Lagomasino in Bloomberg: Where to Invest $1 Million Right Now

Even with better-than-expected U.S. inflation data for October, the risk of a recession is growing as market volatility and interest rate hikes seem to become the new normal around the world. But even amidst this macro backdrop, there are opportunities for affluent families to grow their wealth. To help investors get started, Bloomberg turned to WE Family Offices CEO and Managing Partner Mel Lagomasino for timely ideas on where families should invest $1 million right now.

“I’d put it into investment-grade [municipal] bonds,” Lagomasino tells the publication. “In this kind of environment, you don’t really want excitement, you want security. I think you want a decent return and you want to basically be in a low-risk situation. You can get a return between 6% and 8% on a tax-adjusted basis.”

Another reason why municipal bonds may be an attractive option for families looking to invest a vast amount of capital in the current environment is that while the U.S. economy as a whole may not be growing nearly as much as in years past, state and local governments are in great financial shape.

“They received a lot of money transfers from the federal government during Covid,” Lagomasino explains. “Then the economy came back from Covid and their sales taxes increased as people went out and spent more money. And their property taxes are increasing because property prices went up over the last two years.”

But muni bonds are not the only option for families with a large sum of cash. They can also support entrepreneurs, which is something she is particularly passionate about.

“Having been born in Cuba, I would love to be able to make a larger impact on Cuban micro-entrepreneurs,” says Lagomasino. “I currently work with a foundation, Proyecto Cuba Emprende, that supports business training to help Cuban micro-entrepreneurs acquire skills to grow their businesses. An extra million dollars to this project would go a long way.”

Click here to read the entire Bloomberg article.