If you received $500K, how would you invest it?

Very carefully

Personally, I would invest as follows:

$250K--index funds, ETFs, mutual funds
$50K--down payment on new primary residence
$75K--deposit into brokerage account (for stock and options trading)
$75K--cash/savings
$50K-- CDs

Personally, I would allocate about half of it between my primary residence and a balanced fund, like vanguard wellington.

As for the other half, I would probably put a lot of it into index funds and probably some small and midcap funds. Since you're worried about the market being at a top, maybe throw some of it in a CD or bond funds or something secure for the next couple of years and see what happens.

I wouldn't force myself into rental property unless you have some experience or a good understanding of the effort it can take. My parents are retiring early on rental property, but they have been doing it part-time for decades and know what it takes. There is certainly money to be made, but it can be a huge pain sometimes.

As for the MLPs, I'll admit that I'm not the most educated on the subject. Made some money on one last year, but that's about the extent of my experience.

Good commercial real estate. Perhaps a warehouse with a good tenant. One way. Leverage at about 30% so you could invest about $1.5 million with a good lease on the property. A basic warehouse rents for $4-$6 a foot and can be bought for $30-$50 a foot. Dock high, good floor, good roof ect. Bet a triple net lease. You should be able to service easily a 15 year note. By the time you are 45 or 50 you could retire on the rent of the building.

Stocks maybe--I don't like mutual funds. Pick a handful--not too many-- of good stocks with good brands or patents or something proprietary in an industry with lots of barriers to entry.

You ever hear of GTAT? Good story, big news soon. Got pummeled in the last few days on no news. Might be a good one to watch.

Would not put all or most of my money in any one thing. Would likely be worth you while to pay a financial adviser who sells nothing but advice.

Commercial real estate is the only way. You can get almost a 2 million dollar loan on that , buy a strip center with whatever 2 mili buys in your hood pay it off fast

One financial guy on here told me to buy marijuana stocks. The banker guy on here told me to sell my silver and buy paper instead. Also told me to always worship the dollar, banks are never criminal and always 100% honest and ethical. Oh yeah, and the Federal Reserve is alwys to be believed.

I'm a pretty simple pig farmer from Ioway. I grow pigs. It cost me $260 to grow one pig. I sell that pig for about $72. I vote Democrit, not Republicrit, because the government writes me a check for $420 for that pig.

Guys on interwebz board I've found to be a lot smarter than me.

The problem with warehouses is the rents hardly go up, when demand gets higher somebody throws up another warehouse. I would suggest a older retail center in a possibly gentrifying area that a few years down the road you can flip to a national credit tenant , or just collect checks on it for awhile.

There is nothing to it , just have NNN leases and keep up maintenance. Or hire a management company

The opposite ... You lose your warehouse tenant who knows how long before you get a new tenant. Retail strip one goes out you are atill getting rent checks from the others, spreads the risk out.

This is also why self storages are so good , your never without income