For most people, indexing is the best. If you are lazy or don't enjoy investing, which is probably 95% of all people, it's better. If you have a full time job, it's almost always better (because it's harder to plow through SEC filings after a long at the office, etc). Proper long term investing (and getting 15-20% returns per annum) is hard work, and there's risk associated with it. You need to enjoy it. But it's definitely doable to beat the index every single year if you understand certain industries well. If technology is your industry, and you have a good understanding of the financial side, you will be able to better assess technology and related stocks.