Ackman spent $109,000 on photocopying for MBIA research

If you think you do thorough research before you make an investment, think again: hedge fund genius William Ackman spent $109,000 on photocopying conducting the research that led him to make a massive bearish -- and prescient -- bet against shares of MBIA (NYSE: MBI).

According to Bloomberg, Ackman has always been willing to make big bets when he's been confident in his beliefs: "In high school Ackman bet his father $2,000 that he would get a perfect score on the verbal portion of the SAT college- entrance exam. He says his dad called off the wager the morning of the test for fear he would lose the bet, though Ackman ended up scoring wrong on one answer."

In his latest book, market guru Ken Fisher talks about the question that investors need to ask before they make an investment: "What do I know that others don't?"

In this world of reasonably efficient markets, an information edge is, I believe, crucial to strong performance as an investor. But getting an information edge can take tons of research. There's an army of very smart people looking for their own information advantage.

If the idea of spending hours poring over documents doesn't interest you -- and there's nothing wrong with that -- index funds are probably your best bet.