How should I invest my $300,000 cash?

I am not particularly experienced in investing in index funds. I own a couple. I do not like them much. They are for the most part capitalization weighted which is not a diversified approach to investing. The large cap index funds are much worse though than the small and mid cap ones. Interestingly, VTSMX is not an index fund. It is a managed mutual fund. It does have a good record so it is certainly worth an investment. It is only one segment of the investment universe and as such should not account for more than about 15 to 20% of your invested capital at the most. Since these are small cap stocks they will not be paying much dividends. Your potential return will be all capital gains. There is some additional risk there.

Now, I am retired and I like the assurance of some cash flow. I have a portfolio consisting in large part of dividend paying blue chip stocks. Their average return is a little over 3%, but they do tend to increase their dividends each year and during market drops which we have seen more than a few of recently they tend to not drop so much as small cap stocks. These include PG, CLX, MCD, BDX, CVX, KO, NSRGY, and WMT. Another advantage of these over mutual funds is that there is no annual expense ratio to eat into your returns.

Vanguard also has another fund that would help diversify your holdings VHGEX.

In my mind someone approaching retirement should have allocated about 40% to blue chip dividend paying stocks, about 15% to small cap, about 10% to developing markets, about 15% to international, about 20% cash reserve. That means money market even though the return is squat. Advisers suggest a significant portion invested in bonds at your age, but bonds are a very bad bet currently. Interest rates are going to rise and that will destroy bonds.

give it to me..

I'm 94% cash. 60% of that in big brokerage accounts, 20% in big brokerage affiliated high yield bank which doesn't say much these days, 20% in local higher yield bank. Times are too volatile.
2% ancient value stock. 1% in extended neglected stocks. 3% in frequent trading trying to avoid a day trader label though it's so tempting when you go long and short.
I really messed up over the past year by being a bear in waiting, but my swing trader has now reawoken. I've been mostly cash since the money market rates dropped very low. Just can't get myself to trust anything.
Index funds are great when the time is right. I've enjoyed Vanguard ones especially. Now I don't think the time is right.. just too volatile.
You mean your CD rates stayed decent the past 2 years and didn't get reshuffled? That's surprising. I think a lot of people got booted out of the well paying ones when the financial institutions bellied up.
Also, how did you go from 23 to 55 in 2 months as your prior questions suggest?

Use some of that money to buy a stock and then hedge that trade by buying put options on that same stock. Second, buy gold. Central banks are printing money like crazy...so you have to prepare for hyperinflation.

Then for the rest of the money you haven't used, lock it up in a home safe. Don't put it in the bank. Things are going to get pretty bad so you don't know if your bank is going to survive.

buy scratch off lottery in bulk. one of them has the jackpot!

invest all your money on the lottery