105 
for stocks of this kind, the investor may secure 
quite as good a chance of a future rise in value 
as lie may have in respect of his existing 
holdings. Such a procedure might hinder the 
immediate investment in stocks which are likely 
to carry out the investor’s real investment aim ; 
but it would tend to forthwith improve the 
Geographical Distribution of his capital, and 
this is, after all, a very great step in the right 
direction. To wait for a future rise in any 
security is speculation and not investment, and 
whether the anticipated rise is to take place in 
a security which is actually held or in one 
which has just been purchased does not alter 
the fact. To make investment and speculation 
go hand in hand is not an easy matter, and it is 
from this point of view that every delay in the 
sale of unsuitable stocks should be considered. 
In all cases where a stockbroker is consulted, 
his ipse dixit on investment questions should 
not be accepted as final, but he should rather 
be asked to furnish good reasons for the 
suggestions which he may make, and to 
explain at the outset his Investment Scheme as 
a comprehensive whole. This not only makes 
for the greater enlightenment of the client, but 
it also gives the latter an opportunity of testing 
his adviser’s ability to handle the delicate 
question of investment.