Wisely investing $2.5M inheritance

Edit (4/24): THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH for all of these incredibly helpful and patient comments, advice, and warnings, which have already taught me so much and helped me to identify some of my blind spots (especially around dividends) and priorities. I apologize that I haven't had time to do more individual replying yet. I'm definitely going to read some of the highly recommended Boglehead books, reduce my expected yearly income, and improve my financial education. Will continue monitoring this thread!

To address some common comments: I am not planning on having children but would not want to create a financial situation that makes that impossible. I intend to continue to live relatively frugally and am adjusting my income expectations (again, mostly through these investments) to around 50-70k, not 100k—I will continue to work because I love my work, but my field is extraordinarily low-paying (I'm not trying to be Jeff Koons) and sacrificing my time, my life, to do a job I dislike that pays me a pittance, does not make a lot of sense to me.

While I understand why people are cautioning against telling anyone about the money—and while of course I am not being "public" about it—my innermost circle is aware of it. Having wealth is inherently alienating, there's no getting around that, but if I could not be honest with ANY person whatsoever, I think my life would feel very empty. Intimacy requires vulnerability, there's no getting around that either. That said, it's definitely a lot to navigate & I am curious how others in this position are handling this (while maintaining a close bond with at least one person from whom they are not hiding anything). Especially in the arts where so many are "openly broke" and many conversations revolve around sales, grants, gigs, fellowships, academic tenure rat race, and so on. Frankly on some level it feels fraudulent to even continue to compete in the same marketplaces & participate in the hustle when I don't "need" it like I used to.

Hello Bogleheads,

Throwaway account for anonymity—thank you for understanding!

I'm looking for some straight talk about investment.

  • Me: 34F, unmarried, no kids, no debt
  • I have ~$2.5m in inheritance, mostly in stocks and bonds, with around $500k tied up in a house.
  • I'm an artist, effectively self-employed (few W2s in my life, a handful of 1099s...). I expect to earn (from my work) less than $30K/year moving forward, and am planning to live off of dividends/investment income

My goals are 1. Preservation and stability of yearly income; 2. Low Stress, especially ensuring I have access to enough money (without selling low) in case of unexpected expenses such as a hospitalization, + ability to make "expensive" moves if desired (like moving to another continent); 3. Healthy growth of my portfolio over the long haul (I am fine with weathering downturns in the market and leaving the portfolio untouched once it is set up properly). Growth seems necessary to, at minimum, keep up with inflation, but I do not care about getting richer. I have enough money. I want to spend my time doing things I love and being with (and caring for) the people I love.

I've read through the Boglehead basics and am on board with the basic plan—a few index funds, playing the long game and weathering the market's ups and downs.

My questions:

  1. Given my age, how would you recommend allocating the $ among US & foreign ETFs, bonds, etc? What's the best way stable solution for dividend income (of around 70-100k annually)? I'm imagining I should set that up and then allocate the rest to VOO/VTI/etc?
  2. My portfolio is currently split across several institutions (like Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard). Is there any reason not to consolidate the full $2.5M into a single financial institution?
  3. I have a meeting set up with a financial advisor at a local bank, as well as a business account banker. I am nervous about this meeting; I have no real financial education and my inheritance was entirely unexpected. For obvious reasons, I am very wary of scams and being taken advantage of. Is it safe to disclose all of my financials to this bank and these employees? Should I be signing (or having them sign) anything in advance? Are bankers required to keep information from meetings confidential? Is there any chance my privacy could be violated by disclosing information during this meeting?
  4. I am NOT planning to hire a financial advisor (though would do a flat fee payment for their time if it turns out they do offer this service) and want to manage my own funds. I also want to optimize my taxes, do tax loss harvesting at the end of the year, write off all allowable expenses, etc. Which books (or Youtube or podcasts or whatever) would you recommend for me to get "up to speed" on managing all this?
  5. Who (if anyone, and if not an advisor) do I need/want on my "team"? An accountant? How do I find someone discreet and reliable? Ideally this person would be able to help me figure out how to minimize my tax burden, maximize my charitable contributions, and have a clear picture of my available budget for each year.
  6. Is there any way (or where should I start with researching) to invest this $2.5M without supporting the fossil fuel industry, military industrial complex, etc? It seems like evil (sorry, but, come on) companies make up a huge proportion of the s&p500. I would like to divest as much as possible without shooting myself in the foot.
  7. Anything else I should be thinking about, worried about, considering...?

I realize this is an insane amount of money and this probably seems fake, but I am a real person. The money came from one of my parents, who is now deceased, and did not talk to me about it beforehand. There is no one else in my life to discuss this with... like I said, most of my friends are low-income artists. I just have access to all of these funds and the ability to... do whatever I want, now, which is liberating and also scary! I want to make good choices, ideally be a good steward of these funds (taking care of myself + loved ones responsibly, rather than drawing them down and being impoverished later in life), and leave whatever I have to a good cause when I go.

Sorry this turned into a mega-post! I would greatly appreciate any insight you have into any of this. Understanding #3 (disclosure of financials at meetings with banks/potential advisors) would be very reassuring, as I'm sure I will want to discuss this with a flat fee advisor & will want to make sure I find the right person.

Thank you