Is picking stocks a waste?

I'm interested in this topic, but I am a newb when it comes to stocks.

Hopefully somebody else can get the discussion ball rolling.

I have a retirement account that is making Fidelity money but has not really kept up with inflation for me. I have done the stock thing. You are looking for stocks that will 100x or 1,000x at least that is what I look for. Getting into Tesla early is a great example of that or getting into Coca Cola in the early 1900s. My great uncle did the latter and had so much money he didn't know what to do with it. I thought Palantir could be a 1,000x company. I bought it early and then sold it at the top of the GME/AMC/Meme stock pump ups. Honestly, I have no idea if PLTR will 1000x or not. I didn't re-buy the dip. I still think crypto is worth looking into. I am sure a better app than RobinHood will come along as well. I've always liked low cost investments and then HODL value. I don't hate Vanguard. I don't hate Fidelity either I would just go about things differently in the future. Investing in a house away from climate problems and other issues is probably the best investment if you don't mind taking care of it and are not a nomad by nature. Just my 2c. I am not an expert nor a professional.

I've been investing in stocks for over a decade and I'm on par with SP500 even after going pretty big into Tesla in 2012 and still holding that today.

Unless you have some legit insider info, which almost none of us actually have, your best bet is to get an index that follows SP500. Just about every guru bragging about how they can beat the market, are either lying about what they're doing, selling you something, or both.

tesla is up ten thousand percent since 2012 how are you on par with SP500 except by losing everything else

On February 09 2022 19:45 Santafairy wrote: tesla is up ten thousand percent since 2012 how are you on par with SP500 except by losing everything else

when you aim for the moon, you win some and lose more.

K4iros you need money in order to buy stocks...

The idea of picking 100x projects is ridic. You can take small shots at promising projects thats it.
Poker background for the mental aspects are legit but the technical analysis is a ton of work.

I just put it in an index fund because I don't have the time, or rather don't want to devote time to learning to beat the market. But it is evident that some people can seriously crush it, as in the case of Jim Simons:

"Renaissance's flagship Medallion fund, which is run mostly for fund employees, is famed for the best track record on Wall Street, returning more than 66 percent annualized before fees and 39 percent after fees over a 30-year span from 1988 to 2018."

This guy and his hedge fund either rolled a six a 1000 times in a row or he's got some good info.

On February 10 2022 09:04 Stroggoz wrote: I just put it in an index fund because I don't have the time, or rather don't want to devote time to learning to beat the market. But it is evident that some people can seriously crush it, as in the case of Jim Simons: "Renaissance's flagship Medallion fund, which is run mostly for fund employees, is famed for the best track record on Wall Street, returning more than 66 percent annualized before fees and 39 percent after fees over a 30-year span from 1988 to 2018." This guy and his hedge fund either rolled a six a 1000 times in a row or he's got some good info.

He's not playing the same game we're playing.

Just buy ETH and DOT

FTX just announced they are unveiling a stocks platform. Obv do your due diligence but I would bet it will be better than Robinhood surely.

On February 10 2022 09:04 Stroggoz wrote: I just put it in an index fund because I don't have the time, or rather don't want to devote time to learning to beat the market. But it is evident that some people can seriously crush it, as in the case of Jim Simons: "Renaissance's flagship Medallion fund, which is run mostly for fund employees, is famed for the best track record on Wall Street, returning more than 66 percent annualized before fees and 39 percent after fees over a 30-year span from 1988 to 2018." This guy and his hedge fund either rolled a six a 1000 times in a row or he's got some good info.

Actually, Simons was a math guy with no real business/stockmarket insights initially. Fascinating story worth a read. Also Market wizards are fun to read.

Unless you really enjoy analyzing companies, thinking about investing, have good temperament, and are fine using energy/time for this, and despite all that have a high chance of underperforming indexes and no way to effectively evaluate if you're making good choices or getting lucky/unlucky, then its best to stick to indexes.

If it is something you enjoy/find interesting then I think its pretty fun to analyze/pick companies. You can always start with a small portion of your portfolio for picking stocks and index most of it. It's mostly not worth it unless you have a passion for it. Most people that try to pick individual stocks are just donking around and being feel players, moving in and out of positions way too frequently. As Mr. Buffett says, only swing at the fattest pitches when a company is in your mind after analysis an obviously good investment to hold for years.

crypto imo better roi than stocks

From my experience poker players are even worse than the average investor not better. Are you even interested in reading the documents businesses put out? Why spend time on it when you can just buy & hold an index fund, spend 0 effort and be ok

On March 10 2022 12:59 Jelle wrote: From my experience poker players are even worse than the average investor not better. Are you even interested in reading the documents businesses put out? Why spend time on it when you can just buy & hold an index fund, spend 0 effort and be ok

cause its fun learning to beat the market. anyone can beat the market if u put lots of work in but lots arent that hard working to do so.