Index funds serve a purpose, which is to provide exposure to the...

Index funds serve a purpose, which is to provide exposure to the general long term compound returns of a specific index. Nothing wrong with having some exposure to index funds as part of your investment mix. This is especially the case if one isn't confident to be able to outperform that market. I have learned over the last 15 years of my investment life that I am just really crap at understanding the true value of technology companies, or be able to recognise market leading/changing trends. My success rate in that sector is less than 1 in 3. So I made the decision about 1.5 years ago to allocate a portion of my capital to QQQ and I personally won't invest in another tech stock again. One simply has to recognise one's strengths and weaknesses and work with it rather than live in denial and continue to perform badly.

Where index funds or EFTs doesn't do so well for individual investors is when one knows a sector better really well. It empowers us to be able to identify discounted, value plays and can significantly overperform the market. Of course, it carries a much higher level of risks especially when dabbling in the small cap end of a volatile sector such as O&G. When one gets it right and win a big one over the market, it is extremely satisfying

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