But with over 43,000 companies listed on stock exchanges around the world,

但隨著全球43000多家公司在證券交易所上市。

how do investors decide which stocks to buy?

投資者如何決定買入哪些股票？

To answer this question, it's important to first understand what stocks are,

要回答這個問題，首先要了解什麼是股票。

and what individuals and institutions hope to achieve by investing in them.

以及個人和機構希望通過投資它們來實現什麼目標。

Stocks are partial shares of ownership in a company.

股票是公司的部分所有權股份。

So by buying a stock, investors buy a share in the company's success—

是以，通過購買股票，投資者購買了公司成功的份額--。

or failure— as measured by the company's profits.

或失敗--以公司的利潤來衡量。

A stock's price is determined by the number

一隻股票的價格由以下數字決定

of buyers and sellers trading it;

的買家和賣家進行交易。

if there are more buyers than sellers, the price will increase, and vice versa.

如果買家比賣家多，價格就會上漲，反之亦然。

The market price of a share therefore represents

是以，股票的市場價格代表

what buyers and sellers believe the stock, and by association the company,

買家和賣家對股票的看法，以及對公司的看法。

is worth.

是值得。

So the price can change dramatically

所以價格會有很大的變化

based on whether investors think the company has a high potential

根據投資者認為公司是否有很大的潛力

for increasing profitability— even if it isn't profitable yet.

以提高盈利能力--即使還沒有盈利。

Investors aim to make money by purchasing stocks

投資者的目的是通過購買股票來賺錢

whose value will increase over time.

其價值將隨著時間的推移而增加。

Some investors aim simply to grow their money at a faster rate

有些投資者的目的只是為了讓自己的資金以更快的速度增長。

than inflation diminishes its value.

比通貨膨脹降低了它的價值。

Others have a goal of “beating the market,”

還有一些人的目標是 "打敗市場"，。

which means growing their money at a faster rate

這意味著他們的資金增長速度更快

than the cumulative performance of all companies' stocks.

比所有公司股票的累計業績。

This idea of “beating the market” is a source of debate among investors—

這種 "戰勝市場 "的想法在投資者中引起了爭論--。

in fact, investors break into two main groups over it.

事實上，投資者為此抽成了兩大類。

Active investors believe it is possible to beat the market

活躍的投資者認為有可能戰勝市場

by strategically selecting specific stocks and timing their trades,

通過戰略性地選擇特定的股票，並確定交易時機。

while passive investors believe it isn't usually possible to beat the market,

而被動投資者則認為通常不可能戰勝市場。

and don't subscribe to stock picking.

並不認同選股。

The phrase “beating the market” usually refers to earning a return

"戰勝市場 "這個詞通常指的是賺取回報。

on an investment that exceeds the Standard & Poor 500 index.

在超過標準普爾500指數的投資上。

The S&P 500 is a measure of the average performance

標準普爾500指數是衡量平均業績的標準。

of 500 of the largest companies in the United States,

美國500家最大公司的。

weighted by company valuation,

按公司估值加權。

meaning that companies with a higher market value

意味著市值較高的公司

have a larger effect on the S&P—

對標普指數的影響較大。

again, market value corresponds to what investors

再次，市場價值對應的是投資者的

believe a company is worth rather than actual profits.

相信一家公司的價值，而不是實際利潤。

The S&P doesn't directly represent the market as a whole—

標準普爾並不直接代表整個市場--。

many small and mid-range stocks can fluctuate according to different patterns.

很多中小盤股會根據不同的形態進行波動。

Still, it's a pretty good proxy for the overall market.

不過，這對整個市場來說，還是很有代表性的。

It's often said that

人們常說

“the stock market behaves like a voting machine in the short term,

"股市在短期內表現得像一臺投票機。

and a weighing machine in the long term”—

和長期的稱重機器"--。

meaning short term fluctuations in stock prices reflect public opinion,

意味著股價的短期波動反映了民意。

but over the longer term, they do tend to actually reflect companies' profits.

但從長期來看，它們確實傾向於實際反映公司的利潤。

Active investors aim to exploit the short term,

積極的投資者旨在利用短線。

“voting machine” aspect of the market.

"投票機 "方面的市場。

They believe the market contains inefficiencies:

他們認為，市場包含著低效率。

that stock prices at any given point in time may overvalue some companies,

任何時間點的股價都可能高估一些公司的價值。

undervalue others, or fail to reflect developments that will impact the market.

低估了他人的價值，或未能反映出將影響市場的發展。

Active investors hope to exploit these inefficiencies by buying stocks

積極的投資者希望通過買入股票來利用這些低效率的問題。

they think are priced low.

他們認為是價格低。

To identify undervalued stocks,

要識別被低估的股票。

they may investigate a company's business operations,

他們可以調查公司的商業運作。

analyze its financial statements, observe price trends, or use algorithms.

分析其財務報表，觀察價格趨勢，或使用算法。

Passive investors, by contrast,

相比之下，被動型投資者。

put their faith in the long term “weighing machine” aspect of the market.

把他們的信心寄託在市場的長期 "稱重機 "方面。

They believe that even though markets may exhibit inefficiencies at any given point,

他們認為，即使市場在任何時候都可能表現出低效率。

over time those inefficiencies balance out—

隨著時間的推移，這些效率低下的問題會得到平衡

so if they buy a selection of stocks that represents a cross-section of the market,

所以，如果他們買的股票，代表了市場的橫向選擇。

over time it will grow.

隨著時間的推移，它會成長。

This is usually accomplished through index funds,

這通常是通過指數基金來實現的。

collections of stocks that represent the broader market.

代表大盤的股票集合。

The S&P 500 index is one of many indexes.

標普500指數是眾多指數中的一種。

The overall goal is the same for all index funds:

所有指數基金的總體目標都是一樣的。

to hold stocks for the long term and ignore short-term market fluctuations.

要長期持有股票，忽略短期的市場波動。

Ultimately, active and passive investing aren't mutually exclusive—

歸根結底，主動投資和被動投資並不是相互排斥的--。

many investment strategies have elements of each,

許多投資策略都有各自的要素。

for example, choosing stocks actively but holding them for the long term

例如，積極選擇股票，但長期持有股票

as passive investing advises.

作為被動投資的建議。

Investing is far from an exact science:

投資遠不是一門精確的科學。

if there was one foolproof method, everyone would be doing it.

如果有一個萬無一失的方法，每個人都會這樣做。