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What real world value do short sellers add? Owning a stock used to mean that you invested in (a part) of a company. You risk your money to get some of the real
by apexalpha 8y ago
What real world value do short sellers add? Owning a stock used to mean that you invested in (a part) of a company. You risk your money to get some of the real world gains the company hopefully makes.
Now, the stock is the product, not the company. It's become a game in itself. It adds nothing to the real world outside of finance.
- flush 8y agoWhat real world value to long buyers add? Sure, if you invest and the company takes that investment and does really well with it, the world may benefit from an increase in productivity/wealth. But if you invest and the company does poorly and tanks, then the world loses by something because you could have taken that money somewhere productive. The kind of market that produces the most real world value is one where companies are valued accurately. If you think a stock is undervalued, you go long. If you think it's overvalued, you go short. Both actions affect the market value of a stock. Seems like two sides of the same coin. I can't see where an argument against one doesn't work against the other.
- pmart123 8y agoHonesty. For instance, investors can't short in India, and it happens to be one of the countries with a reputation of a high proportion of companies with accounting irregularities.