Quote Originally Posted by Dreadnaught View Post
My goals are medium/long term capital appreciation, with a secondary goal of generating some income from dividends.

Most of my non-cash savings is in Vanguard mutual funds in a 401k, so it's effectively locked-away in mutual funds until I'm 65. So my goal with individual stock choices is to build a separate money pile I can tap earlier in my life (home purchases, wedding, etc).

I do use a few mutual funds, but candidly I want to diversify away from them a bit and possibly make some solid picks with lower fees, fewer restrictions and direct dividend income that I'll probably enjoy having around over the next decade or two.
The reason I ask is because most financial advisers I've read/seen on TV don't suggest picking individual stocks unless you have a lot of dough to play with. Between mutual funds and ETFs you can get all the diversity you need. And unless you are making very large trades, those transaction costs will be more then fees.

Now don't get me wrong, investing in individual stocks can be fun and exciting. I myself did it with 1k and it was enjoyable following the stocks. I just don't think its a good idea to do with serious money unless you have a lot of it and know what you are doing.