Agreed - good examples - part of the issue with the funds route is there are so many to choose from.......I use mostly funds myself, tend to aim for a wide range (not all eggs in one basket etc) and use those with good track records (both the firm and the manager). Very rarely take a punt on individual equities personally, as well as being on the cautious/low risk side I don't have the time or more importantly the expertise to do the research and make decisions (and I am also bound by some dealing restrictions which might impact my ability to get in/out when I want) - so I figure that the 0.5-1% a year I essentially pay to Fidelity or Jupiter or whoever to do that for me is worth it.
The earlier comment re gold was interesting. My worst performing fund over 5+ years by absolutely miles is a small amount I put in a commodities fund which has a heavy gold bias..................
This is pretty much exactly how I do it. Use the fund managers with a very good track record. Like anything in life, let the experts be expert at what they are experts at.