Top coins that follows Bitcoin market movement most of the time provide decent profits, not that much compared with a new coin that really create big pump but better enough than risking with an unknown team which most of the time can create short pump then the project die after, I also agree on that part where timing is important, while value still low and you have a good amount of spare money, buying portion by portion of your chosen asset may increase the chance of making money once the market start to pump the value of the coin / project that you select.