How I'd Invest $20,000 Today if I Had to Start From Scratch

It certainly still applies to most facets of my relatively long life, including my years as an investor. With that as the backdrop, and based on a few-too-many years' worth of accumulated wisdom, here's what my portfolio would look like if I was just starting out with $20,000 worth of cash. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it -- I'd invest half of any new portfolio of any size in an index fund like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY), trusting that over time the market's inherent bullishness will do lots of heavy lifting.