Stock-picking: There are hundred of different ways to skin a cat.

No investor can possibly hope to keep up with the more than 13,000 companies whose stocks are traded on the major exchanges in the US markets today.  That's why amateurs and pros alike are forced to cut down on their options by specializing in one kind of company or another. 

• For instance, some investors buy stocks only in companies that have a habit of raising their dividends. 
• Others look for companies whose earnings are growing by at least 20% a year.
• You can specialise in a certain industry, such as electric utilities, or restaurants or banks. 
• You can specialize in small companies or large companies, new companies or old ones. 
• You can specialise in companies that have fallen on hard times and are trying to make a comeback.  (These are called "turnarounds.")