That means astute stock picking will hold the key to further gains.

Measuring the prevalence of stock picking would seem difficult, if not impossible.

As the big capitalization stocks weaken and the indexes appear to lose some of their impressive momentum, the argument for hands-on stock picking gains more credibility.

Complicated stock picking methods are nothing new.

The Cazenove fund has managed positive returns for investors through smart stock picking for both its long and short books.

His stock picking strategy is influenced by George Soros' trading strategies and Marc Faber's analysis of economic history.

But his stock picking led only to ruin and the couple finally sold the unit in mid-2003 for $1.5 million, Mr. Denby said.

So how does Mr. Nagorniak do his stock picking?

Better yet, as one of the "quants" put it, "we can do the stock picking without using our brains for a day or a year."

Because the Investar records can be searched stock by stock, some people who do their own stock picking find it valuable.