Here's a shock for you, using just very basic technical techniques, a few weeks study, basic common sense money management and proven methods, not just over one two or five years but the entire history of the markets you could easily achieve gains above 25-30%pa. An extra six months work add 10-20 to that. It gets much better with time.
You do not need to be smart to earn good money from just about any market. Common sense is essential however, something a lot of intelligent people seem to be lacking in.