Trades and Investments are different in many ways.  Both have their ups and downs.  For instance a trade is usually not going to be affected by dividends because many stocks that are traded aren't held long enough for dividends to affect them.  Obviously this is somewhat of a disadvantage.  The positive thing about trades is that it is often easier to make money faster than an investment because you don't hold the stock for as long as an investment.  The perks of an investment is you hold the stock for long enough that you are going to get a dividend if your stock offers one.  On top of that, investments are bought with the future in mind.  They aren't intended to bed bought and sold soon after. When someone buys an investment, they are intending to ride it out until a certain time when they will sell it for, potentially, a much higher price.  This also allows for the stock to potentially split which could cause the price of the stocks to skyrocket depending on the initial worth.  Although trading may earn you more money upfront, investing is meant to earn you significantly more money, most of the time, just in the long run.