Ombow, That's a good sign that the Bakers own some AXSM. While they aren't infallible, they know a whole lot more than we do, and have a great track record.
>> disastrous experience with Cortex, PolyMedix <<
I actually didn't lose all that much with those particular stocks since I was always too skittish to hold a position for very long. But I found plenty of other ways to lose money. My annual tax Schedule D would consist of pages of small losses that always added up to a fairly big number (loss) by the end of the year.
Not only didn't I know what I was doing, I clearly didn't have the temperament for the stock market. I also didn't know anything about reading charts back then. But worst of all I totally ignored asset allocation. So a bad combination of factors, and I kept flailing away at it for way too long.
You could take the worst stock picker in the world, and given a sensible asset allocation strategy, he/she could still do OK overall. The key is to not put too big a portion into that allocation bucket. If you allow say 50% of the portfolio for stocks, then only allow a fraction of that for active trading, say 10%. With 40% in broad stock ETFs, and 10% for trading, you'll have some fun without getting into too much trouble.
The sooner people rid themselves of the notion of 'get rich quick', the sooner they'll get in the plus column with their investments.
