> taking advantage of smaller players who think the game is fair, until a profit appears. I'm still not sure in what form this "taking advantage" happens. I th

> taking advantage of smaller players who think the game is fair, until a profit appears. I'm still not sure in what form this "taking advantage" happens. I think the stock market provides unique opportunities in how one can start small and grow with additional capital, knowledge or time when it becomes available. > Why don't everyone buy into index funds then (genuine question) ? For a variety of reasons: some find it boring, some think they can beat the index, some get stock grants and stick to what's familiar, some buy stocks that they hear about (because their friends do), etc. Even those who (mostly) buy into index funds may invest a chunk of their portfolio into riskier assets.