Active investor/speculators earned only 2.56% annually, 1990-2010, (QAIB) DALBARinccom. Active traders are successful only 20% of the time. Brokerage clients earned NEGATIVE 2.26% a year 1997-2001 when they followed the firm's advice. Inactive investors earned 11.8% annually over the long-term.* Inactive investors paid an average of 0.21% in fees and $0 commissions annually. *See Chapter 1 for my choices. "Low-cost funds beat high-cost funds in every single time period and data point tested." Morningstar Your financial health may not be good right now. Your gut is telling you to sell all your investments NOW. But wait, Warren Buffett, world's greatest investor, says, "Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees.... Paradoxically, when 'dumb' money acknowledges its limitations, it ceases to be dumb."