You find an amateur investor (a wealthy dentist, a retired executive) and raise the money to bring it to market.

The big question is whether amateur investors should take the plunge.

The wise amateur investor will leave highly volatile markets to professionals.

Left out in the cold will be the average amateur investor.

Many amateur investors think you can't fight Wall Street.

Wall Street does - and that is what makes amateur investors a valuable commodity these days.

Fear cut across both the sophisticated and the amateur investor.

But one thing has not changed much since the 70's - commodities remain a very hard game for the amateur investor to play.

Right now, it would be hard to find anything more disdained by amateur investors than commodities.

Some amateur investors were jubilant late yesterday because they had bet against the market professionals - and won.