Not to slam of flame anyone, anything outside an S&P index fund is heresey ;)."s

Basically, at 50, your father could live another 35 years if he's in good health and a good family history of longevity. His greatest fear shouldn't be the stock market risk but inflation, this is more likely to eat into his nest egg over the next decade than any market down turn.

ANY stock investment is not conservative, but some are less "speculative" than others. Peruse the workshop screen sight and screen explanations and look at what you understand and would be comfortable with using. For someone that sounds a little conservative I'd suggest the BSP5 (Beating the S&P, a variant on the Foolish Four) and Keystone 100 Top 5 (a growth oriented screen that primarily picks large caps). This would create your own "mutual fund" so to speak that you are in control of. For a sleep comfort factor, you may keep 5% in cash/cash equivalents.

JLC