There is no income tax if you give money away. Also, there is no Federal estate tax, as long as you don't give away more $11.58 million during your lifetime. So, $200K won't even come close to triggering any taxes.

Pay attention to the costs.
I would look to an online broker. Either do it on your own or use their Robo free advice or there paid advice. I like ETF and maybe a stock or two you think is really good.
Since you can not time the market I agree with you that now is a good time to buy. Be sure to list the beneficiaries on the account if you do not have any special estate objectives.

It may appear that the stock market is dropping like a rock. But, do the math. The S&P 500 Index closed today at only 3.5 percent lower than is was one year ago. So, it may not be as good a deal as it may seem.

lol Gold is falling like a rock.. Last week gold hit $1,700 an ounce. Today = $1531..

Gold is an asset class correlate to inflation
 

Gold is an asset class which has no income, and has mostly used in jewelry, and small amount in industrial products. What gold is most highly correlated with is the strength of the US dollar which is reflective of the US relative inflation rate versus other currencies.

With US asset deflation, gold will go down, not up. With a currency crises meaning that the US inflation rate is increasing faster than the rest of the world's inflation rate, then gold will rise. With excessive debt, the dollar could plummet, increasing the price of gold. So everyone should own no more than 5% of a portfolio in gold, but that's it.

In today's market, people have been selling their gold to pay off margin and offset losses. Not until the US deficit balloons out of control, will gold start to appreciate significantly, YMMV

But it's always good to have some on hand for the Zombie Apocalypse.. lol

Great choice..............Yield is about %3.70.

But, I sure like those William Devane commercials. By the way, if you buy gold coins from that company, and then sell them back when the gold value has not changed, you will lose 8 percent of your money.

I respectfully disagree
 

Hey, normally you would be right on, saying this is not the place for investment advice--However!
If you read the intelligent, thoughtful responses this post has received you may be surprised how really helpful they are! I retired as a real estate agent, but spent 20 years as a stockbroker and then as a financial planner before that, and at this time of downsizing in my own personal world of finance I find the advice given here lead me to explore some investment vehicles that I had not considered (ETFs specifically). In fact, I never heard of them til now. Those did not exist when I was in the business, and I really appreciate this posting opening up the discussion. Thanks, All!!!

I would recommend dollar cost averaging until potential news of a cure for the coronavirus. Until that the news comes out the market will be very volatile and putting all the money in at at one time could be mistake. Talk to Fidelity here in The village about their managed accounts you get a personal advise to manage your account based on my risk tolerance .

I have an appointment with a Vanguard advisor next Thursday. I think his services will cost me about $600 for managing the $200k for the first year. I will take this year to get smarter as an investor.

I need to learn how to pass this money on to kids with minimal tax due, how to sell and buy smartly, how to intelligently diversify and how to minimize costs. Excited about my new journey as I am OCD when it comes to learning new skills. Thanks for all of the advice even though some was contradictory.

While I won't suggest what to buy, I do agree to wait a bit, but I suggest you open a ROTH IRA (depending on when you will need the money). If you won't need the money for over 5 years you can do very well in the market and withdraw the money tax free (after the first 5 years, not counting what you put in).

Great time to buy a home. Interest rates are dropping like a rock.