Jim Cramer says you want to pick stocks that meet two criteria

Investment Strategy - The proposed investment strategy involves allocating half of the capital to a low-cost index fund and the other half to a portfolio of five individual stocks along with a non-stock hedge such as gold or bitcoin [1] Stock Selection Criteria - The selection of individual stocks should be based on two main criteria: the stocks must be observable, meaning the company's operations are clear, and they should be of genuine interest to the investor [2][3] - It is emphasized that if a stock is neither observable nor interesting, it is unlikely that the investor will dedicate the necessary time to research its potential [3] Common Mistakes - A prevalent mistake among investors is the assumption that they possess more knowledge about a stock than the market does, often without conducting adequate research [4][5] - The text warns that unless an investor has insider information, they will not know more than the market, and trading on such information is illegal [5]