Buffett has stated : "I think I could make you 50% a year on $1 million" http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/june1999/sw90625.htm http://www.businesswee

Buffett has stated : "I think I could make you 50% a year on $1 million" http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/june1999/sw90625.htm http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/june1999/sw90625... For him, its really a matter of how much money he has to put to work. This is probably in part why Burry can make the returns that he does, he doesn't have a $200B anchor around his neck. For an inexperienced individual to make those returns (10%/mo) would likely be more risk taking than alpha generation. It's hard to describe exactly what would be involved in getting to the stage where you could do this reliably (alpha generation) because there are different routes to get there (fundamental, quant, high frequency), but it would likely involve quitting your day job and also likely involve getting a day job that involves asset management. And not the hot-air sales kind like Wealth Management/Private Banking, more like the hedge fund/portfolio manager kind.