Final answer:
A significant majority of day traders do not make consistent profits, with many professional investors and mutual funds also failing to beat the market average. Day trading is high risk, and outguessing the market is not a reliable path to wealth, suggesting a steady investment strategy may be more effective.
Step-by-step explanation:
While specific percentages can vary, it is generally recognized that a significant majority of day traders do not succeed in making money consistently over the long term. The challenge of outperforming the market applies even to professional financial investors and mutual funds, many of whom also fail to consistently pick winning stocks that outperform the market average.
It has been observed that even amongst full-time professionals, only a few are able to beat the market average persistently, and as time goes by, around half to two-thirds of mutual funds fail to keep pace with market returns. For the average, more casual investor, the likelihood of success is even less. The process of selecting stocks with the expectation of significant gains is fraught with risks and does not reliably lead to wealth accumulation.
Overall, day trading is a high-risk endeavor with odds stacked against the average trader, especially when trying to outguess the market. Instead, a slow and steady approach to investing is often recommended for building wealth over time.