I spent three years at one of the world's largest hedge funds. I was a banker for a year before that. Most important lesson I learned: Don't play individual stocks and think you have anything more than a gambler's chance of success.

There's a public perception that stocks as an asset are simple to understand - good company=stock goes up! - that is hugely far from the truth. Equity is a complex instrument. The factors influencing the movement of equities are complex.

For the retail investor, the best move is a balanced mixed of assets designed to capture long term market beta - effectively the tendency of asset classes to gain value over time. That's not so easy either, but if you gamble, it's better to gamble on a cornerstone of capitalism as a whole rather than an individual company.