A recent article in The Wall Street Journal reported that most of the companies in the Motley Fool reports are held in the personal portfolio of David Gardner, one of the Fools. In addition, seven of the ten reports on the site were written by analysts who already own the stocks being profiled. The Wall Street Journal regularly tracks their recommendations, and most investors would have done better buying good mutual funds. Corporations themselves make it difficult for individuals to make stock decisions. For example, companies put out some bad news a few weeks before earnings are announced.
Analysts lower their estimates.
Ego and ignorance make a woeful combination, and a fast computer simply allows you to make your mistakes faster and more often. Many traders found this out the hard way when they were wiped out, or even ended up owing more than they invested because they had margin accounts. Surveys consistently show that on average, active traders do much worse than investors who buy and hold. And of course we could never lose money.