Ask HN: I have $450K cash, what should I do to maximize my return?
&gt; <i>I&#x27;m not comfortable investing the entirety into an index fund, given the current socio-political climate.</i><p>Over the the long term there is not really anything better to do with it than equities: the Great Depression, World War 2, gold standard retirement, 1980s inflation, etc. Even if you only invested in the peaks, you&#x27;d still do quite well over the decades:<p>* <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;awealthofcommonsense.com&#x2F;2014&#x2F;02&#x2F;worlds-worst-market-timer&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;awealthofcommonsense.com&#x2F;2014&#x2F;02&#x2F;worlds-worst-market...</a><p>Jumping in with a lump sum amount can be quite daunting, so what you can do instead is put in (say) 40K every month over the course of a year or so:<p>* <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ofdollarsanddata.com&#x2F;even-god-couldnt-beat-dollar-cost-averaging&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ofdollarsanddata.com&#x2F;even-god-couldnt-beat-dollar-co...</a><p>Certainly better than sitting in cash. If you&#x27;re worried about volatility, then also invest in some bonds funds: 60% stocks, 40% bonds? If you want more growth, 70&#x2F;30 or 80&#x2F;20 maybe.<p>And while the S&amp;P 500 gets a lot of the press, a total market fund is what Vanguard is steering their own employees to:<p>* <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.marketwatch.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;bogle-explains-why-vanguard-employees-wont-have-a-flagship-sp-500-fund-in-their-401k-2018-06-07" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.marketwatch.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;bogle-explains-why-vanguar...</a><p>See also:<p>* <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pwlcapital.com&#x2F;should-you-invest-in-the-sp-500-index&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pwlcapital.com&#x2F;should-you-invest-in-the-sp-500-i...</a>