What should I do with inherited stock?
Receiving a large inheritance concentrated in a single company leaves heirs unsure whether to hold the shares over time, invest elsewhere like index funds or real estate, or take a specific course of action. Without a clear strategy, it is difficult to know how to grow the money safely without losing it.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Leaving the stock alone
- 2Selling individual stocks and putting proceeds into index funds
- 3Spreading out sales over several years to manage tax implications
- 4Asking online financial forums for guidance
- 5Considering various options like broad-market index funds, real estate, or retirement accounts
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My initial thought is honestly to just leave it alone and let it sit/invest over time. If this were you, what would you do with it?”source ↗
“Recently got an Inheritance and I’m trying to know the best course of action.”source ↗
“Should I take the $200,000 And put it into (voo) ? Or should I buy another property?”source ↗
“Goals would just be to make sure it grows and I don’t loose any money.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Should I keep my inherited family home or downsize?
- 4How to invest an inheritance when you have no idea what you're doing
- 4Where to invest inheritance money for my kids?
- 4How to avoid high fees on an inherited Edward Jones account
- 5How are you actually supposed to spend invested money?
- 63How to decide whether to invest excess savings or keep them in an HYSA