OK, then I think the answer is that yes, of course it is possible for an individual to beat the market. It just takes luck. It's nearly impossible for you to kn

OK, then I think the answer is that yes, of course it is possible for an individual to beat the market. It just takes luck. It's nearly impossible for you to know if you are winning because you are truly better at picking stocks than the market or if it is just luck -- but most of the time, it's going to be luck. It is a very rare investor that can consistently make much more than the market as a value investor by buying and holding long.