My first investment-Real Estate vs. Stocks

[Dan Giungi]

Hi! I'm hoping there's a few people on here that can give me a little guidance. I'm 26 and just starting to seriously look into real estate investing as a vehicle to become financially independent and fund my retirement. However, there's a few different factors in play and I'm trying to figure out exactly how to strike a balance between them. I'll give a brief background below to provide some context.

Through the course of my work I've worked with a number of landlord, real estate investment and property management groups, so I have a strong working knowledge of the fundamentals and I know it's not as easy as many beginners might think. However, the idea of building my own business through real estate and becoming financially independent is intriguing and what I've always wanted to do.

I've been saving money in a standard savings account that accrues minimal compounding interest. 

I don't have stocks or bonds. However, in another year I'll be vested in a pension through my employer and they will make automatic contributions without a required matching contribution from me. 

I have enough money in my savings account at this point to make between a 10-20% down payment on an investment property with enough left over for a substantial reserve fund.

This is my dilemma: I'm stressing out about not having any money invested in stocks and feel like I might be missing out on compounding interest. Should I take part of the money in my savings account and invest in stocks, then build my savings back up to make a down payment on an investment property? Or should I stay the course, hold steady and purchase a quality investment property with a strong ROI and then begin investing in stocks while building equity in the property so I can use a home equity loan in the future to acquire another property. 

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!