There's a distinction to be made between gambling and trading, both of which are separate from investing. I sure hope fund managers are trading and not gambling.

The trader's best friend is the gambler. Someone has to contribute all the money being made in the market.

IMO the key is to develop and hone a trading strategy using paper money. When your strategy consistently outperforms a solid indicator like the S&P 500, slowly edge into your trading strategy with small doses of real money. Mind you, building a successful trading strategy is more work than getting a college degree.

Sixto
87 300D