There are two types of speculation. One is wild and the other is rational. Both can make you huge profits and huge losses. When you invest in a rational speculative share, if the assessment is wrong, faked or things change or the market sentiment is unfavourable, it will crumble.
If you buy a purely gambling speculative stock, in the short term, it will fluctuate and if you buy and sell at the opportunistic time, you can earn a lot. But it is still a form of gambling as it is based on luck. Merely postulating how good a deposit of mineral is likely to be is different from confirming how good it is. Selling a new technology that is brilliant is different from proving its value. It may cure cancer but if it has serious frequent lethal side-effects, it is only good for the rubbish bin.
Some well-proven ones never make it either... until a big brother turns up to usurp management or it proves its worth by leaping profitability.
Last year, superannuation funds which took the risk in investing in good stocks did well. But I also invested in 'good' stocks which failed to glow. However, those that glowed and continue to glows, often compensate for the failures. And if my logic is right, I hope the glow has not subsided for stocks like TAS/TASO especially if EDE continues to make favourable announcements. And FBR has also attracted Caterpillar's attention leading to a huge spurt in its share price after being in the doldrum in spite of its brilliant robotic technology. AJX had a spurt when its profit continued to rise with increasing orders but it has faded again; time to top up for me!
In the meantime, I have sold NEA for a very nice profit but it has gone up further. Never be greedy; others will get the peak; at least I didn't sell at the trough!
