huddo, I certainly agree with your sentiments. I've got a lot...

huddo,
I certainly agree with your sentiments. I've got a lot less time in the work force than you and set up my SMSF in about 2000. There weren't many different types of LIC's then, and in hindsight I made the mistakes of having my several LIC's all being of the same type (ARG, MLT, AFI), having too much cash and thinking that I was able to pick out a few individual stocks.
When things are going well and the individual stocks are doing well you can soon convince yourself that you are a bit of a stock guru, simply by looking at a few of the basics - ROE, PE Ratio, Revenue etc. etc. But when you listen at times as to how much time and expertise goes into stock selection by the experts, and they often get as many wrong as right, I've convinced myself that it's a bit like playing darts. I'm not bad at avoiding a few of the shockers, but still hard to get stocks that will be moving upwards. Used to get very nervous at reporting season.
So I changed my approach on the basis that there are now a lot (over 120) LIC's that in many cases have different approaches. I've reduced my cash levels and now are much happier with my range of stocks. I probably have too many (about 20) but don't mind that. I tend to review each month and buy the ones that have dipped and trim off a bit the ones that have gone up a certain amount. That is on the basis that I haven't lost faith with any particular stock. e.g. just about to get out of WDE before Wilsons came along, and am now concerned about ALF.
Have also increased my International stocks (about 8 incl MFF, WGB, FGG, VG1) to 40% of portfolio. Left 10% in cash and the other 50% includes a few traditional LIC's (ARG, MLT, BKI etc), as well as a few that are smaller, more specific and probably with more volatility (ACQ, BST, LSF, SOL, AEG, CVF....etc.) . Some have clearly done better than others but I'm happy with my mix now.
Hope this helps.