I would buy SPY as a lump sum and hedge it with a collar OTM short call and OTM long put maybe go out 9 months or a year for expiration Strikes will depend on your tolerance for risk
%% THATS why so few would even consider a lump sum, even if it worked in SEPT or OCT + it did not work well than .Actually Dave Ramsey 4 or 5 fund plan has less risk than most any single stock plan, unless you are Peter Lynch. I've done dividend ETFs. I prefer private sector money market investments + ETFs like QQQ+ related SPY related trades. NOV tends to be up in SPY, but could easy \chop around 200dma. I also like his post #19; but SCHW money market much more than any kind of bonds. IBKR + Fidelity have some good money markets, but do your own research.
Unfortunately SPY returns are increasingly focused on 5-7 stocks so concentration is a lot higher than it looks on paper. You might try a blend of SPY / IWM (Russell 2000) to get some broader diversification.
%% Good 500+points , good %; but that'$ =sop, standard operating procedure+ just shows how hard it is to pick top trending stocks. Like Dave ramsey noted 4or 5 stock funds+ Real Estate + business...... [+book trades i dont do much of that/ but give some away.] Dave ramsey traded his lawn care guy a .22 rifle for that service. Never have done that, but got a knife today , before markets opened , from the metals deal=worth more than scrap metal/ 100% sure of thatLOL
Perhaps this may be of use to some. Edit: Note, these are rolling returns which probably gives more clarity on the time you are actually in the market