My theory on the stock market, it always overreacts to good and bad news. Trick is to guess which is happening and buy the dips and sell into highs. Funds are diversified and require no guessing. They are available in different mixes so you have to think a little. The more general funds don't go up the fastest but they also don't go down as fast or far. Money market accounts almost always stay the same.
Point and click all you want: Google Finance
Think of things you buy where the price goes up and down. I guarantee there are stocks or funds or ETFs that are also doing the same. look at the companies who make the product. buy low and sell high.
after I rode a few stocks down to worthless I started looking for funds with better odds. Brokerages already take a small percentage listed as expenses to track paperwork I guess. Vanguard is best so far and have many different options for playing the market. Vanguard