An attitude to investment that is often criticized. According to critics, speculation involves buying or selling a financial asset with the aim of making a quick profit. This is contrasted with long-term investment, in which an asset is retained despite short-term fluctuations in its value. Speculators actually play a valuable role in financial markets as their appetite for frequent buying and selling provides liquidity to the markets. This benefits longer-term investors, too, as it enables them to get a good price when they do eventually sell.