6Before you stop reading I want to tell you that I am highly conviced that most private investors have the capability to smartly invest in the stock market. And I am an ex-portfolio manager from Frankfurt am Main, Germany, who is willing to share what hehas learned in years as a private investor and as a professional fund manager. In most developed countries an alcohol-free cocktail is more expensive than this guide. So do I think that I offer enough "bang for the buck"? Yes, I do. There is a hugeleverage when you compare the price of this guide to the amounts you will invest in the stock market over the years. If this guide can only marginally improve your upcoming performance, the return on investment should be very good when it comes tothis guide. Do I want you to stop investing in funds? No. Do I say that you should invest on your own becauseyou will do it better than professional fund managers? No. I got to know various very, very good fund managers. The difficult things is to tell good and bad managers apart. But that would fill a whole book and is not the goal of this guide.If you anyway invest in stocks yourself, than this guide is helpful. I do not want to persuade anyone to invest in stocks. Those, you are interested in stocks anyway, those I can help with this book.