I'm not surprised by this finding; too many smart people are working on the same problem. When it comes to investing in public markets as an outside player, I'

I'm not surprised by this finding; too many smart people are working on the same problem. When it comes to investing in public markets as an outside player, I've seen three moves which can work.... 1) Identify a consumer product category going through the technology adoption S-curve, ideally something which isn't very subject to short term innovation cycles or disruption. My wife spotted the trend of people spending more on pet drugs before we got married and invested. We've ridden it for well over 20 years... 2) Buy when the entire industry is a flaming wreck and there is blood in the boardroom; assuming there is a good reason that demand for their products to continue. I've done this several times in natural resources (gold in the early 2000's, oil in 2016) and it worked out decently. 3) One I haven't executed yet; certain firms are basically bets that a specific event will occur, at which point the demand for their product will go bananas. Buy in the quiet period and sell once the event happens. Requires great patience to execute well.