Here's a roadmap for which kinds of accounts to use:
1. Fund your 401(k) or other work retirement plan up to the max.
2. Fully fund a Roth IRA.
3. Pay off a mortgage. (You've paid off other debt or never incurred it, of course.)
4. If you still have a pile of money and you want to save it up for retirement, look for a variable annuity. Look for a cheap one. Vanguard offers one, though I don't know the details.
5. If you want to leave a pile of cash to your heirs, then think about variable or whole life insurance.
I'd put the pile of cash into a bank or someplace quite safe, then year by year put it into the 401(k) and the Roth. Once you have cash in those accounts, you can put it in Vanguard funds or somplace interesting.
One caveat: 401(k)s and Roth IRAs don't work so well for early retirement, like MMM at age 30. If you aspire to that, then put some or all of the pile into Vanguard funds now and fund the 401(k) and Roth as you are able.
Oh, and as far as whole life goes, your financial adviser is required to FINRA rules to make recommendations to you that are "suitable." He could have some explaining to do to FINRA if they ever ask him about it. It's very hard for me to see how whole life would be suitable at all for you, unless you have small children who will be left helpless if you die. It's true that you can build up a nice stash in a whole life policy, but it's an awfully expensive way to save money. Way too conservative and expensive for you.