Investing in shares = Gambling

kidmugsy

berbastrike wrote: »

"Investing" in shares is simply gambling. Do you agree/disagree with my opinion?

Investing in property is simply gambling. Investing in precious metals is simply gambling. Investing in bonds is simply gambling.
Planning for your next birthday or wedding anniversary is just gambling.

Gambling isn't just gambling though, because the outcome is fore-ordained. The house wins.

Chickereeeee

masonic wrote: »

One can often cherry-pick a definition that suits ones liking, but the fact remains that words mean different things to different people and there are usually multiple dictionary definitions for the same word, even in the same dictionary. For example...

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gamble

However, the OP used the word "simply" to preface "gambling" in the statement we are discussing. More goes into investing than "simply gambling", so I disagree with the statement.

Not really. As others have said, if you choose to risk something on anything that has a non-certain outcome, you are gambling. Maybe you can reduce the risk by studying company reports, the horse's form, or counting cards, you are STILL simply gambling.

If you are 100% certain of winning (marked cards?) then no.

C

Thrugelmir

berbastrike wrote: »

"Investing" in shares is simply gambling. Do you agree/disagree with my opinion?

Does crossing the road involve a degree of risk?

masonic

Chickereeeee wrote: »

Not really. As others have said, if you choose to risk something on anything that has a non-certain outcome, you are gambling. Maybe you can reduce the risk by studying company reports, the horse's form, or counting cards, you are STILL simply gambling.

I agree that reading company reports is equivalent to studying form or counting cards, but that wasn't what I was referring to. Investing is more complex than simply gambling because when you "simply gamble" money, then you should be able to say objectively and definitively that you are winning or losing. However, investing is more complex. For example, the capital value of your investments could have fallen, but you might not be investing for the capital gain, but rather income, so capital value might be irrelevant for one person, but crucial for another depending on their objectives and horizon. In short, an investment that is made does not necessarily require a specific outcome or prediction to happen in order for the investor to claim success. In the extreme, simply knowing they have supported a business or cause may be enough reward for the investor.

If you are 100% certain of winning (marked cards?) then no.

It is possible to be 100% certain of winning, but still lose, so this would be better stated as "if the probability of winning was 100%". Of course, events with 100% probability are purely theoretical.

enthusiasticsaver

I would tend to agree that investing in individual shares is tantamount to gambling due to the risk of loss.

Eco_Miser

berbastrike wrote: »

"Investing" in shares is simply gambling. Do you agree/disagree with my opinion?

It depends on your definition of gambling. If you consider gambling to be the type of thing you can do at casinos or bookmakers, then I disagree; if you consider gambling to include crossing a busy road, or depositing more than £75,000 with a single financial institution, then I agree, since with that definition, just about anything you do is gambling.

System

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Does crossing the road involve a degree of risk?

It does not risk money

redpete

HappyMJ wrote: »

Over time you could also double your money but you could also lose the lot.

You would have to invest very badly to 'lose the lot' - e.g. only buy one company's shares and keep the whole lot until the company goes completely bust, but then I wouldn't call this behaviour investing at all.

Eco_Miser

berbastrike wrote: »

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Does crossing the road involve a degree of risk?

It does not risk money

That's debatable - if you're off work as the result of crossing a road, you're losing money.

Also, gambling does not necessarily risk money - bets can be with matchsticks, or items of clothing.

System

Eco_Miser wrote: »

That's debatable - if you're off work as the result of crossing a road, you're losing money.

Also, gambling does not necessarily risk money - bets can be with matchsticks, or items of clothing.

You cannot compare the financial risk of getting hit by a bus to investing thousands of pounds in a certain companies stock. Madness!