b>50% Of U.S. Households Invest In The Stock Market Individuals invest in the stock market directly, through mutual funds, their pension plans, profit sharing plans, 401k's, IRA's, etc.

Mutual Funds Dominate The Market It is mainly the mutual funds, buying and selling, who move the market and cause individual stocks to go up and down. Mutual funds are the 800-pound gorillas of the stock market; at the end of 2003, mutual funds held more than $3 trillion dollars worth of stocks.

The Dow Jones Average Is Not The Stock Market The Dow Jones Industrial Average is comprised of only 30 selected stocks. In reality, there are more than 7,000 different stocks listed on the 3 major U.S. stock exchanges. That makes it quite possible that, in a given time frame, the Dow Jones Average may be flat or down but many individual stocks may actually be up.

Most Individual Investors Fail Over time, most individual investors fail to achieve the stock market success they would love to have. This is due to many factors, including lack of knowledge, lack of time and effort, lack of a good strategy that works, and emotional decision making.

Can You Beat The Market? Investing in stocks can be a very rewarding experience, financially and emotionally. If you do it right. With the right effort, the right knowledge, and the right strategy, an individual investor can do extremely well in today's stock market, and, as a result, realize a brighter and richer financial future.