Finding a good investment is the key, and never make excuses when you pick a bad project, look for where you went wrong and look for a solution.
I agree with you there however the vast majority of alts have lost more than a years worth of value.
I dumped a lot of non performers last year but kept the following because they seemed to have a lot of potential.
QTUM - disappointed to say the least with current price
Zcoin - hasn't lost too much value
NAV - lost a lot of value but i really like it
as for the declining state of affairs will bring many disadvantages. making the price daunting.