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.