Without going into the history of dividing traders into investors and speculators, let us briefly highlight the features.

 

Investor position:

 

An investor considers equity investments to be participation in a business with the objective of preserving or increasing capital.

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A balanced portfolio of shares guarantees you profits in the form of dividends.

Joint stock companies to exist as a type of business to make a profit. Co-owners are interested in the success of the business to make even more profit, which means that you too will receive a commensurate portion of the profit together with them on the right to own "part of the property" in the form of a block of shares. 

 

The share price, in most cases, increases over time.
Factors that increase the price: business is expanding, profit is growing, promising expectations.

 

Relative reliability of investments

Shares are not depreciated over a long period of time as used goods, but rather are intended to preserve and increase the capital. A successful company uses part of its profits for equipment repair and development and maintains a proper level of serviceability.

 

Relative stability of receiving profit in the form of dividends.

Dividends are paid annually, once every six months or quarterly, and additionally by decision of the Board of Directors. 

 

As a rule, the annual income is almost 1.5-2 times higher than the bank deposit.

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The position of a speculator:

 

The purpose of the speculator is to obtain capital gains in the shortest possible time, using fluctuations in the price of the asset.

 

Large annual income in case of successful and experienced trading 1(100, 400 and more %).

Due to the use of borrowed funds (leverage), shorts of shares with a leverage, a speculator can get profits from trading many times more than using only his own funds. But it also increases the risk of losing your funds many times if you choose the wrong price direction.

 

Relatively more reliable way to gain profit than playing "casino", with the proper level of training.

To be a successful speculator you need to keep your hand on the pulse of stock and economic news at all times.

 

Great risk to lose your investment.

As a rule, speculators play among themselves, and only a small part of those who understand technical and fundamental analysis with a large database of experience win.