Over the long-term, the average investor fares very poorly versus a range of buy and hold strategies. Curiously (unlevered) residential real estate, just barely kept pace with inflation.
Various Asset Class Long-Term Returns
Different asset classes rotate leadership in any given year. Over the past decade, commodities have trailed.
Asset Class Rotate Leadership
Human emotions are fairly predictable and feature in market cycles, giving rise to investment opportunity.
Predictable Investor Greed-Fear Cycle