1999 T here's no question about it. The Internet has unlimited sources where investors can research investments before they buy and most of it is free. After learning how to navigate the Internet and recognize valid information from junk one can almost become as smart as their stockbroker.
Online trading is the next step but that's a separate discussion.
For now let's talk about using the Internet to research stock and mutual funds to determine what might be a good investment. Well, we're there. You can make such a search on the Internet now. It's not possible to describe all the stock and fund parameters that one can research at Investment Finder. The database is huge and very powerful and I'm still learning how to make searches.