As an individual investor, we can have three known advantages, namely, informational, analytical and behavioral advantages.

There is also a 4th advantage, a philosophical advantage. It is equally as important to have a consistent framework & philosophy.

As an investor fond of small caps, I can think of yet another advantage: we individual investors can fish in a pond much smaller than the big institutions would be able to. And when we've caught on to a true rising star and then all all the institutional money begins to pour in, the retail investor can do pretty well!