Looking below the consensus here is on index funds. I think, historically that was the right strategy, but the notion of buy-and-hold an index fund, broad basket of stocks, etc is being looked at in a new light. From the early 80s to the peak of the dot.com bubble you saw a long bull market. Buying and holding a low cost index fund would have served you well. Since 2000, not so much.

See: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/03/vanguards-broken-buy-ho... & http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/12/buy-hold-vs-trend/ - Yes both sources are the same author but I really respect Barry Ritholtz's views and he's hardly the only one making this argument.

Trying to pick individual stocks can be a foolish endeavor, but buying trends, whether it is index funds over certain periods, various sector/commodity ETFs, and yes, companies with great stories is what I try to do. I'm young (27), and the advice I've gotten consistently is at your age take some risks. So right now I have a managed portfolio, some bonds/MLP/MLP funds for income, and some short term positions in individual stocks and commodities. Oh, and a short on a particular content farm :)