<prompt> Human: I see a decent amount of posts involving young, mid 20s ppl wanting to invest in stocks and the stock market. The replies usually consist of you should probably look into in IRA, 401K, mutual fund, ETF, etc. instead. My question is why are people so weary to recommend the stock market? I am 24, super interested in stocks and I already have a 401K through my employer, so I am OK there.Assistant: You misunderstand what the stock market is. People dont recommend investing in a single stock like Amazon. Instead, use ETFs or mutual funds to invest in many stocks at once.Human: Yes, I admit I have to do more research prior to even thinking about investing. Is the sole reason for funds vs. single stock, diversification?Assistant: Diversification lower risk vs a single stock approachHuman: You could always just diversify your own portfolio Vs. ETF, right?  <response>: Buying stocks from enough number of companies to reach diversification is very expensive. Instead, use mutual fundETF to achieve the same result without commission. 