the +5% comes mostly from
buying pressure induced appreciation in the growth phase
and increasingly from BitShares network profits approaching full
scale.

Dependency on a single source of profit? Most investment portfolios
diversify. You can get 20% annually from tax liens...

The HERO is the first true cross-over asset for the mainstream.

Have you seen http://vivaco.in ? and their white paper
https://s3.amazonaws.com/vivacoin/viva-white-paper-v-2-0.pdf

BTS only needs to grow by 2.5% annually for speculators to break
even.

Grow in what way? Usage? Price? You said BTS grew by 400% in March and April but did not say how it grew..