Started investing in 1974. Have seen many ups and downs. Overall, not a great success, nor a big failure. But I have done better than market, in the final analysis. In the process, I have accummulated a great deal of information and knowledge, having read hundreds of books on investments, from all sorts of angles. I have traded stocks, options, futures, commodities, indexes and so on. Currently I have become an intermediate term investor, focusing on ETF's, in the main. I have taught personal finance and investing at college level. I have been an educationist all my life, now retired as an emeritus professor of philosophy and religion. I believe personal finance should be a required course in all higher education programs.