There are very few advantages a small retail investor has over the professional money managers of Wall St. The main advantage is to simply buy high quality dividend paying and growing companies with strong balance sheets and cash flows and then sit on your hands! Buy & Hold and keep these amazing American companies for decades at a time. Or buy a low cost index ETF like a Vanguard Dividend Appreciation fund (VIG). In Real Estate buying and holding is even more of an advantage because of the high transaction costs involved in buying and selling Real Estate.