Ask HN: What would you do with $100K cash?

I'd do what others said and invest in S&P 500 index fund (Vanguard). But - I would personally go for a regular index fund and not an ETF because ETF's are too new in my opinion. Not enough history unlike VTSAX or VFIAX which are old enough, so I trust them a lot more (also a suggestion from Warren Buffett BTW). And - I would not use your $100K. That's the main difference... you already have this cash in hand, don't invest it. Keep it as a back up just in case you get in troubles for unexpected events in the future. $100K is a good amount for that because it's not too much but still a lot of money to survive. Indeed, start redirecting the money you save every month into your Vanguard index fund. That's it. Start doing that today, let's say $1000/month. Buy VTAX or VIAX with it every month no matter if the market goes down or up. It's called dollar cost averaging.

Benefits with this strategy - You maintain a nice buying power (your $100K), you're pretty much secured in case something bad happens, if the market crashes tomorrow, not a problem, you're only investing brand new money. Worst case scenario is your best case scenario today = $100k. Plus by doing dollar cost averaging, it's actually good when the market goes down a bit because you end up buying more with your $1000/month at a lower price.

That's it.

1- If you're Relentlessly Resourceful { find something at the intersection of what you're passionate about, a problem, and a global movement. Then, create a company around it. If you're frugal enough you've got a shot at failing with 3-5 products (however similar between them) with $100k }

else {

2- pick 4-8 Tech and Biotech public companies w a 3-20B market cap w compelling visions that have initially been backed from top tier VCs. 1 example: BOX

}

- if rolling average of VIX is below 15, all in on vanguard

- if it's above 15, choose from a basket of historically defensive stocks (Mcdonalds, Coke etc). Allocate more toward stocks with lower pearson correlation to the index in the past year.

- add hysteresis to taste

the idea is to avoid extended downturns while not really actively managing. This strategy backtests pretty well and it's what I use personally.