General Investing Advice: 1. You will never beat the market. No one is able to beat the market, even those who's job is investing, rarely ever beat the market.

General Investing Advice: 1. You will never beat the market. No one is able to beat the market, even those who's job is investing, rarely ever beat the market. Over 100 years of investing research has proven that it just doesn't happen. (See Warren Buffet for exception?). The best thing you can do when investing is to place your money in a low cost mutual index fund and wait. do NOT get involved with active trading with your retirement funds. Do not do it yourself, do not hire a broker to do it for you, do not, do not, do not! The rule of 9 is this: Any amount of money you invest in the stock market today will double in 9 years when averaging 9% returns. (The US Stock has historically grown 11.87% per year for the past 100 years). Specifically I would invest equally in three different funds: S&P 500 - Equally spreads your money in stocks from the 500 largest companies. (The S&P 500) Total US Market - Equally spreads your money in stocks from all US companies in the stock market. Target Date fund - A diversified fund that shifts from high volatility (Stocks) to low volatility(Bonds) as your near your retirement age. ----------------------What I think you should do with the $7,000,000------------------ 1. Pay off Debts 2. Set up Emergency Fund 3. Set up retirement Account 4. Set up investment account 5. Any money left over can be used for helping family, donating to your favorite charity, or open-source. --------------------Detailed Description--------------------- 1. Pay off debts. - If you find yourself out of a job or in a sudden life change, the financial peace of no outstanding debts makes it easier when "life happens". In many cases, you could earn a bigger return per dollar by investing (Such as investing in a Index fund vs. paying off student loans), however the flexibility and peace of mind of not having debts is hard to measure. 2. Set aside 1.5 - 2 years worth of money in a "O shit fund". This should = your living expenses for 1.5 - 2 years. Place this money in a savings account that you cannot easily access. Many banks can set it up so you have to show up in person to access the money in your savings account. This money is in case you (or your wife) lose your job, it will float you until you get a new one. 3. Call Vanguard to open up a retirement account. https://investor.vanguard.com/home/ https://investor.vanguard.com/home/ (I do not work for Vangaurd, they are just the best to work with, and have low management fee's from my experience) With a phone call, Vanguard is essentially a free financial planner. Surprisingly enough, All major investment firms will NOT pressure you to open an account with them over the phone, they will answer all questions you have and tell you to have a great day at the end without hassle. 4. Vanguard will help you determine the amount of money you need to place into your retirement accounts to have a happy retirement without running out of money when you hit 90+. All major investment firms will likely recommend that you place a little extra in as well, do this. Open up 2 accounts with them, a retirement account comprising of a S&P 500 index fund, Total Market Index Fund, Target date fund (These three will represent your retirement portfolio) and then a brokerage account. A brokerage account work exactly like a retirement account, except you contribute money after paying taxes, you pay "Capital gains" taxes when you withdraw cash from the account. Invest $2million into your brokerage account ($1m in a S&P 500 index fund, and $1m in a total us market index fund) and you could theoretically retire tomorrow, living off of the returns from the brokerage account alone. 5. Some ideas for what you can do with the left over funds. a. Open a college fund for kids or future kids. (Look into 529 plans) b. Pay your parents back for raising you, helping you with college, etc by paying off their mortgage or contributing to their retirement fund. c. donate to charity's d. donate to open source e. purchase investment houses in a high demand area, let a property management company handle the houses for you, they will take a slice of the profits off the top in return for finding renters, handling maintenance calls, rent, etc. They will only call you for major repairs such as replacing appliances or the roof. (This can take many years to get a return on your initial investment but after you have earned your money back, it can be very profitable) f. Open an HSA (High deductible health care plan required), max out your HSA contributions, and set your HSA account up as an investment account just like your retirement accounts. HSA's are accounts that have a "Triple tax advantage" so these accounts have the greatest return for the dollar. (You can only use HSA funds for health care costs, like dental visits, ER visits, prescriptions, or even buying floss or toothpaste) A little known loop hole is that you can max out your HSA every year, and pay for all your health care costs out of pocket, place all your receipts for health care in an envelope and when you retire, you can "reimburse yourself" for ALL the costs from your HSA tax free. This allows your money to gain compound interest over the many years before you "pay" for the health care, earning the most money on your money.