My parents, who are in their early 70s and in excellent health, have recently come into about
$200K,
and have asked me to help them invest those funds. They have very little financial savvy, and
will
need an approach that requires minimal participation on their part. They need a little income
from the
investment and are seeking to grow the principal fairly safely. Their main goal is to preserve
this
money as an inheritance for my brother and I, although my bro and I think this money should
be used
by our parents for a (more) comfortable retirement.

I am thinking about suggesting that they divide the money into thirds and invest it as follows:
1/3 in an
income fund like Fidelity High-Income (I know, I know, but they really need ease of use), 1/3
in an
S&P 500 fund, and 1/3 in the Foolish Four.

Any thoughts on this allocation would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds good to me. Since they do not want to be active get a power of attorney to make trades in the
account. Tell them what you want to do etc and if they say ok you can do the rest. I would think
Fidelity has a form for this.

You can also suggest from time to time to sell a little extra stock to take a vacation or by a new
washer/dryer. The point is you can help them spend the money on themselves if you are handling the
day to day paper work.

This could be a goodtime to see if they have general power of attornies (naming each other and if
they can not act someone else), living wills, and a will.Hi.