George, their family friend has informed the couple(Jacinda and Steven) during a family dinner that "although in Australia the individuals invest directly in the stock market, in recent years 31% of the adult population directly invest by holding shares, down from 44% in 2004". Their question to you is:

If direct share market participation is a good or bad strategy for an investor? Discuss one reason why investors should or should not invest directly in the Australian shares.