I don't understand. If you and Speedo were so profitable trading the ES and having your own chat, why on earth dabble in stocks and have to watch dozens of instruments and have to deal with all that is associated with different exchanges and that entire complexity?
Being a one trick pony is boring. If one REALLY likes to trade then other instruments makes life more interesting. I don't trade stocks but Gaslight does and if you are paying attention to this thread, you'll note he does quite well at that as well.
For the record and to be clear, the chat room is a handful of guys and it is not a revenue source. Not one person pays one dime to be there. I just don't understand this mindset around ET. It is the only place in the world I encounter it.
"dabble" lol As far as complexity do you realize you can automate all screening? Doing the math in my head, this stock is up almost 450% from Monday's close to today's close with almost no back and fill. Why would one not trade this? Sooooooooooooooooo much opportunity in this market. What would make someone be so lazy as not to take advantage of every bit of it? This is a market that comes by once every 20 to 50 years.
My guess for diversifying would be that stocks will at certain times present interesting opportunities which give better risk reward returns. Then as mentioned there is the interest factor, just trading ES would become monotonous after a while, but stocks, they come in many flavors. Trading can become very boring so little side dishes add a yummy touch.