Nuts about spec stocks: Small company shares aren't just for day traders. It doesn't hurt to squirrel a few away - as long as you take care that the bad nuts don't outnumber the tasty ones

摘要

Financial markets love their animal metaphors. There are bulls and bears, hawks and doves, dead cats that somehow bounce, dogs on the Dow and lame-duck traders. But what about the squirrels: those clever investors who find the market's buried nuts - the unknown stocks that take off before the rest of us hear about them - then grab their profits and stash them in blue chips? Metaphors aside, the issue of speculative-stock investing deserves more attention. I here are plenty of hot tips around but less considered is how to invest in this part of the market sensibly. By volume, it's huge: of the 2200 stocks on the Australian Stock Exchange at least 1500 could be considered speculative, depending on your definition. There are about 700 mining stocks alone.