Is a career in finance a smart move?

— -- Q: I'm studying finance in school but my parents hate investing and say it's gambling at best. How can I convince them to reconsider?

A: After everything that's happened on Wall Street the past year, it's understandable your parents would be less than hot on your plans to go into the finance field.

There's no question there's truth to what your parents suggest. Wall Street firms infamously invent pricey financial instruments to part investors from their money. Investors are urged to trade stocks, in the process making their brokers wealthy as they spin their financial wheels. And when all this went wrong, the way the banks and insurers went to the government with their hats outstretched asking for bailout money, has revealed the ugly side of financial speculation.

Given the events of the past year, it's impossible to deny there are some major shortcomings with the way money has been handled by investment professionals.

With that said, investing doesn't have to be gambling. In fact, the only way many Americans will ever be able to afford to retire will be with prudent and wise investment in companies.

It's easy to forget this, but when you buy a stock, you're buying a piece of a company that sells goods and services of value. The value of that ownership investment stake will grow as the company or companies you've invested in innovate, create new products and attract new business. This cycle of investment fueling business activity is what our capitalistic system is all about.

Unfortunately, most investors get blinded by the ticker symbols, flashing stock prices and the sport of investing. At its core, investing is about ownership. Ownership in productive assets that generate cash and earnings over time.

I agree, betting on day-to-day or short term movements of stock prices is gambling. It's a mistake to call it anything but.

But buying ownership stakes in companies and holding on for decades is something different. If you diversify your holdings so you're not overexposed to a single company, and hold on, you can hope to see your stake increase in value as the economy grows.