Invest in a mix of stocks, bonds and money market funds that balance your need for growth and income and fear of loss. A minimum time horizon for the stock market should be five years. Don't be a market timer. Dollar cost average into your investments and dollar cost average out of your investments. Avoid load and high-expense mutual funds.
Mutual funds provide instant diversification.
Don't waste your time and energy with a short-term preoccupation with beating the market. Commercial annuities don't make any sense unless you have limited resources and are worried about outliving them. The tax viability of a tax shelter varies inversely with the number of pages of legal opinion. Protect your assets with a charitable gift annuity or charitable trust. Charitable trusts and charitable gift annuities are some of the last great tax loopholes.