Better Index Funds

A stock index fund buys stock in every company that is a member of some defined index, such as the S&P 500. The idea is that if you own, for example, a little bit of 500 different companies, you'll be well diversified and generally do better than the professional stock pickers, thanks in part to lower fees and lower taxes.

The reason index funds are so popular is that it's hard to pick individual stocks that will outperform the average. But I wonder if it is just as hard to identify stocks that w