Steady 4-5% on $5 million?
pg: The returns you can get at a given risk are unfortunately not something you can dictate.  E.g. I believe safe municipal bonds are now returning around 3% after tax.  If you want to get more than that you have to buy bonds with a higher risk of default.But if you put all your assets in bonds, you risk getting burned by inflation.  Over the long term, stocks have higher returns than bonds.  But over short periods they can have disastrously lower returns.  So experts generally advise you split your assets between stocks and bonds depending on how soon you need the money.  The usual advice is to put 100 - your age percent in stocks.  E.g. if you're 20, to put 80% of your assets in stocks.  But of course you'd have to put more in bonds if you need some of the money to live on.The one question no one seems to talk about much is what to do when you have to invest a large sum at once, as you do.  If your age implies you should put 70% in stocks, does that mean you should put 70% in stocks the next day?  What if you're buying at a market peak?  So whatever percent you decide to put in stocks, I'd bleed it in over a reasonably long period.  Simulations would tell you how long a period; I'd guess years.