Matt Frankel, The Motley Fool

Sat, Jun 14, 2025, 6:38 AM5 min read

• There's no perfect way to put a sum of cash to work.

• The right strategy depends on how involved you want to be with your portfolio, and your risk tolerance level.

• There are some good rules you can use to help get you started.

• These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires ›

As always, The Motley Fool cannot and does not provide personalized investing or financial advice. This information is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional financial advice. Always seek the guidance of a qualified financial advisor for any questions regarding your personal financial situation. If you'd like to submit your question for feedback, you can do so here.
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If you have a lump sum of cash to invest, and your debts are all under control, what should you do? This is a question that a Reddit (NYSE: RDDT) user recently posted, and it's a very good one to look at more closely.

If you had $100k, zero debt, how would you invest your money?
by u/cinnamonbon12 in DaveRamsey

What I'm about to share isn't personal financial advice. I would need to be familiar with all aspects of your financial situation to make any customized suggestions. But I'm happy to offer some general steps you can take that will point you in the right direction.

The first suggestion I'd make is to answer two "test" questions that can give you a solid outline for your investment strategy.

The first is asking just how active an investor you want to be. There are three basic levels:

• "I want to put money in an investment(s) and not have to check on it or worry about it."

• "I don't mind doing a bit of investment maintenance, but don't have the time, knowledge, or desire to own individual stocks."

• "I'm well-versed in the stock market (or plan to get there before investing real money) and would love to construct a portfolio of individual stocks."

If you are in the first group, it's probably best to look into a robo-advisor. This is a type of investing service where you deposit money, and the platform will construct an age-appropriate portfolio of investment funds. It's the best way to truly put your investments on autopilot.

If you're in the second group, definitely read on, but you'll be focusing on index fund investments, not individual stocks. There are hundreds of great index funds to choose from, and a well-constructed portfolio of passive index funds can be a great way to build wealth over time.