this is a very good question...maybe "investing" is no longer the correct term...
if you purchase shares in a micro cap company, with no earnings or dividends, you are "speculating"...
yes, this is the only area in equity markets that minnows, like us, can make massive capital gains...however, for every PDN there are thousands of companies that delist and you lose all your dough...throw of the dice?
buying shares in macro caps and holding them could be called investing but this comes with risk also...buy at the wrong time and whatever dividends you earn will be cancelled out by capital losses..see telstra...
if the major institutions don't buy and hold, why should you?
5 year term deposits offer 7%pa guaranteed...question you must ask is "can i beat that by a wide margin?"..majority of australians have the majority of their money in term deposits
