Originally Posted by
Excargodog
Put it in a Vanguard money market fund for safekeeping now and then transfer it into either their 500 index fund or their total stock market portfolio fund - 8% per month over the next 12 months.
Lots of research out there on the inter webs that debunks the benefit of dollar cost averaging vs lump sum investing. It all essentially boils down to “time in the market” and the compounding interest that follows from it is far more effective (and possible) than “timing the market”. DCA is preferred rather than building up a pile of cash and trying to find the “perfect” time to invest, but if you find yourself with a mountain of cash already and wish to invest, going all-in ASAP is the historically a more beneficial strategy. And yes, every year I even go 100% contribution to my 401k until I hit the $19.5k limit so I can maximize my exposure to the stock market which, historically speaking, rises far more than it falls.
To the OP, I was in almost the exact same situation you found yourself in a year ago and followed precisely what you proposed: It all went into a super low fee total market index fund. I have zero regrets.
As always: Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.