What I meant was HFT as I (and how I think the 'common person') understands it is that trading is basically a zero sum game since trading doesn't really help a

What I meant was HFT as I (and how I think the 'common person') understands it is that trading is basically a zero sum game since trading doesn't really help a company raise money over very short time periods, but investing is not a zero sum game where you're looking for stocks to go up over the long term. Where I think HFT is zero sum is your competing against other HFT people to more accurately and quickly predict the future in the very near term, then buy & sell in a very short period. And since the market changes all the time, these algos must change to stay profitable over time as the competition improves their algos to beat you. Algo trading might work in markets where HFT isn't big yet, but most people won't know which markets that is or how to actually trade there, and if you get good enough to make successful models, you're basically in the industry, it's probably way more than a hobby at that point.