The difference and connection between speculation and investment

As is well known, foreign exchange trading is a high-risk investment activity. Due to the high risk, investors may receive substantial returns. For investors, one of the most important skills is learning to avoid foreign exchange risks, which has led to the trading model of foreign exchange speculation. So what is foreign exchange speculation?

What is foreign exchange speculation?

When speculators anticipate an increase in the exchange rate of a certain currency, they buy the currency's forward in the foreign exchange market. If the currency's exchange rate rises at maturity, speculators can sell the currency's spot exchange at the rising exchange rate to deliver the forward, thus gaining speculative profits. This type of speculative trading in which money is bought before it is sold is called "long" or "short".

When speculators anticipate a decline in the exchange rate of a certain currency, they sell the forward of that currency in the foreign exchange market. If the exchange rate of that currency does indeed decline, speculators can buy spot exchange at the declining exchange rate to deliver and earn speculative profits. This type of speculative trading that sells first and then buys is called "short selling"

In the forward exchange market and the foreign exchange futures market, foreign exchange speculation has some formal differences, but the principle is the same.

The difference and connection between speculation and investment

Speculation and investment are two different investment behaviors with obvious differences and connections between them.

Firstly, the difference between speculation and investment lies in their investment purpose and investment period. Investment refers to the investment behavior carried out in order to obtain stable returns in the long term, usually by selecting assets with potential appreciation space for investment after thorough analysis and research. Speculation, on the other hand, is an investment behavior conducted in order to obtain high profits in the short term. It is usually achieved by buying and selling assets to obtain a profit differential in situations of high market volatility.

Secondly, the difference between speculation and investment lies in the magnitude of their risks and returns. Investment is usually a relatively stable investment behavior, with relatively small risks but relatively low returns. Speculation is a high-risk, high-return investment behavior with relatively high risks but also relatively high returns.

In addition, there is also a certain connection between speculation and investment. Speculators usually also need to conduct certain analyses and research in order to make correct investment decisions. Investors can also engage in short-term speculative behavior in situations of high market volatility to obtain higher returns.

Investment and speculation are both means of using principal to obtain returns through certain channels. As for the difference between the two, I think one sentence can be relatively clear: investment is valuable speculation. From this sentence, it is not difficult to see that the difference between investment and speculation mainly lies in the persistence of value.

Investment and speculation both focus on value. It cannot be simply said that investment focuses on value while speculation does not. On the contrary, speculation, as an efficient investment behavior, pays more attention to the effectiveness and explosiveness of value.

For example, if you choose a category in the stock market and want to engage in short-term trading, you will pay more attention to whether this category can resonate with market trends during the holding cycle. That is to say, in a short period of time, can its value be fully recognized and released? Although your short-term trading is fast in and fast out, you have actually considered and evaluated its value rather than blindly choosing.

Investing more is an expectation of the growth value of this category. Although the value of this category has not been fully demonstrated and released, and even the market recognition is not high, I have strong expectations for its value, vision, and growth, and I am willing to wait and stick to this expectation.