Final answer:
It is typically poor to expect to make a profit from a speculative investment, as most investment advisers do not consistently outperform the market, and stocks are believed to follow a random walk, making successful stock-picking highly unlikely and risky.
Step-by-step explanation:
Typically, odds are poor that you will make a profit in a speculative investment. Even though some investment advisers and financial investors have been successful for certain periods, the majority do not consistently outperform the market. Historical data indicates that typically half or two-thirds of mutual funds aiming to surpass the market actually perform worse.
The average investor, who may simply follow the business pages over coffee, generally cannot achieve better results than full-time professionals. Stocks are thought to follow a random walk, making it exceedingly difficult to pick those that will gain significantly and consistently beat the market. As a result, relying on picking stocks for substantial future gains is widely considered a risky approach and an unlikely pathway to wealth creation.