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A retiree has $100,000 to invest between two accounts: a stock fund that earns 7% interest each month and a bond fund that earns 3% interest each month. They want to earn at least $5000 total in interest each month but their financial advisor tells them they should invest as much of their money in the bond fund as they can because it is more stable. How much money should they invest in each account? Create linear cost models and solve.

User Thoman
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Final answer:

To achieve a minimum of $5,000 interest per month, the retiree should invest $50,000 in the stock fund and $50,000 in the bond fund, following the financial advisor's guidance to invest as much as possible in the more stable bond fund.

Step-by-step explanation:

The retiree needs to determine how much to invest in each of the two accounts to meet their goal of earning at least $5,000 in interest each month. To model this, we can use a system of linear equations based on the given interest rates and desired income:

  1. Let x represent the amount to invest in the stock fund at 7% interest.
  2. Let y represent the amount to invest in the bond fund at 3% interest.
  3. The total amount invested is $100,000: x + y = 100,000.
  4. The total interest earned per month must be at least $5,000: 0.07x + 0.03y ≥ 5,000.

To maximize investment in the bond fund (y), given the guidance from the financial advisor and the constraints, we solve the system:

Step 1: Solve the equation x + y = 100,000 for y, giving us y = 100,000 - x.

Step 2: Substitute y in the second equation and get 0.07x + 0.03(100,000 - x) ≥ 5,000, which simplifies to 0.07x + 3,000 - 0.03x ≥ 5,000. Simplifying further gives 0.04x ≥ 2,000, so x ≥ 50,000.

Step 3: Since we need to maximize y, we should take the lowest value of x that satisfies the condition, which is x = 50,000.

Step 4: Substitute x = 50,000 back into the equation y = 100,000 - x to get y = 100,000 - 50,000, thus y = 50,000.

Therefore, the retiree should invest $50,000 in the stock fund and $50,000 in the bond fund to meet their goals based on the advisor's recommendations.

User Stephanus Mostert
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