Congratulations to Manny Moffitt for earning the nod to be called the Investor of the Year. He earned the most money since we have started this stock market challenge with an impressive 93% rate of return. Well done!
Challenge Years Winner's Name Total Amount Rate of Return
2012-2013 Evan Lance $145,300 45.3%
2013-2014 Trent Wells $147,800 47.8%
2014-2015 James Madison $153,400 53.4%
2015-2016 Avery Fleeman $152,600 52.6%
2016-2017 Loren Holl $148,100 48.1%
2017-2018 Mr. Thompson $155,700 55.7%
2018-2019 James Madison $173,800 73.8%
2019-2020 Mr. Thompson $136,100 36.1%
2020-2021 Copeland Goodson $160,100 60.1%
2021-2022 Brady O'Connor $183,000 83.0%
2022-2023 Anna Randles $190,000 90%
2023-2024 Owen Roach $159,993 60%
2024-2025 Logan Petty $181,090 81.1%
2025-2026 Manny Moffitt $193,048 93%
In finance, speculation is a financial action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum.[1] Speculation typically involves the lending of money for the purchase of assets, equity or debt but in a manner that has not been given thorough analysis or is deemed to have low margin of safety or a significant risk of the loss of the principal investment. The term, "speculation," which is formally defined as above in Graham and Dodd's 1934 text, Security Analysis, contrasts with the term "investment," which is a financial operation that, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return.[1]
In a financial context, the terms "speculation" and "investment" are actually quite specific. For instance, although the word "investment" is commonly used to mean any act of placing money in a financial vehicle with the intent of producing returns over a period of time, most ventured money—including funds placed in the world's stock markets—is technically not investment, but speculation.
Speculators may rely on an asset appreciating in price due to any of a number of factors that cannot be well enough understood by the speculator to make an investment-quality decision. Some such factors are shifting consumer tastes, fluctuating economic conditions, buyers' changing perceptions of the worth of a stock security, economic factors associated with market timing, the factors associated with solely chart-based analysis, and the many influences over the short-term movement of securities.