I agree. Having most of his capital in the stock market or real estate is a great opportunity to lose money in the next 5-10 years. Holding cash and investing it when the market is down is a good idea. Buffet currently does that because Berkshire thinks [1] that most of the stocks are overvalued (he waits for the next crash to buy them when they're cheap).
Other assets which are stable in value (e.g. gold, inelastic resources) are also a good idea.
OT: I would get myself a New Zealand citizenship/permanent residency and buy real estate there ($500k-1m NZD). Many millionaires are currently heading to Australia and NZ because they expect that the inequality will get to the point where society will turn aggressive. A little bit paranoid, but they try to be better safe than sorry. Plus New Zealand is a wonderful place to live and the real estate price will rise in the next years because of growing fear. [2]
$SPY has lots of room to go. This bull market is just starting to simmer until the market tells us otherwise. Further to that, for many, me excluded, time in the market is better than time in the market. If you can afford to just leave all your money in the market, overtime, statistically, it has been proven to get better returns when we recover. Suppose OP drops $8M into the market and it dips to $150, it will likely recover in time and it won't be spent if you just leave it. You can also do the 4% withdrawal that many financial blogs suggest.
Leaving cash on the side will eat you alive especially when inflation goes higher. However, if inflation goes up significantly over the next decade, think 15-20% inflation per year, having money on the side to buy assets will give OP the ability to become an asset owner, as inflation provides the ability for the largest transfer of wealth, assuming items can be paid off and investments are made in assets which gain value, i.e. houses, not cars.
Most people lack the emotional capability to hold stocks that are losing value.
If inflation goes up he can use his money to allocate the most valuable asset. I just don't think it's generally a good idea to invest while the market is deep into a bull market. It's better to put 1/5th or 1/4th into this bullish market and wait on the sidelines for the market correction (crash). If you buy after a crash, it's definitely a better bargain. Finding other options for your cash (e.g. houses that are expected to rise in value) to avoid losing 2% to inflation is certainly a good idea. I would also consider the risk that OP had no contact with the stock market before and that the emotional toll you get when you see that -15% in your portfolio can be overwhelming. Most people lose their money because they realize their losses in the wrong moment (and vice versa - some people lose their money because they don't cut their losses early enough). Definitely no hassle-free money in the stock market.
I agree. Having most of his capital in the stock market or real estate is a great opportunity to lose money in the next 5-10 years. Holding cash and investing it when the market is down is a good idea. Buffet currently does that because Berkshire thinks [1] that most of the stocks are overvalued (he waits for the next crash to buy them when they're cheap).
Other assets which are stable in value (e.g. gold, inelastic resources) are also a good idea.
[1]: https://www.businessinsider.de/warren-buffett-berkshire-hath...
OT: I would get myself a New Zealand citizenship/permanent residency and buy real estate there ($500k-1m NZD). Many millionaires are currently heading to Australia and NZ because they expect that the inequality will get to the point where society will turn aggressive. A little bit paranoid, but they try to be better safe than sorry. Plus New Zealand is a wonderful place to live and the real estate price will rise in the next years because of growing fear. [2]
[2]: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2018-rich-new-zealand-doo...