Long-term Trading vs. Short-term Trading Benefits
A common decision faced by traders is whether to pursue long-term trading or short-term trading. While there’s no right answer, it’s important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each before deciding which one is better suited to your investment goals and time commitments.
Both types of trading can prove very lucrative if you know what you are doing. Whichever method you choose in the end, be sure to use a trusted platform such as OANDA so you can rest assured that your money is safe from cybersecurity breaches. Using a trading platform like this will also ensure you have access to as many trading opportunities as possible.
Here are some things to consider when deciding between the two options of short-term trading and longer-term investing.
Benefits of Short-term Trading
Though many will argue that long-term investing is a better strategy, short-term trading may bring rewards of its own. Here are some reasons why it’s worth considering a focus on shorter periods:
Greater Returns
For all but those with extremely high-risk tolerance and specific investment goals, most investors will see greater returns by making more frequent trades than by holding their positions for longer periods of time. If you have less than £100 to invest and expect to take more than three months to recoup your investment and turn a profit, then you should probably stick to buying and holding your investments until they mature. If, however, you want to trade frequently, taking advantage of opportunities as they arise—and if you don’t mind losing money occasionally—then day trading or swing trading might be right for you.
More Predictability
In many cases, short-term trading can be more predictable than long-term investing. The reason for that is simple: If you’re going to invest in a stock, it’s much easier to predict what will happen over a few days or weeks than it is to predict what will happen over several years. Just like we’re more likely to know what we’re doing in the next few days, the stock market is no different!
Advantages of Long-term Trading
There are also many advantages to long-term stock market investment.
Bigger Investment
If you invest in stocks for a long period, it means that you generally have a greater amount to invest than if you would want to do it over a shorter period. This can ultimately lead to bigger profits.
Lower Costs
Fees will affect your overall profit less with long-term trading and investing. Long-term investing reduces transaction costs and broker fees because you only buy and sell securities on an infrequent basis. This allows investors to keep their money invested for longer periods of time without having to pay additional commission charges.
Fewer Worries About Market Volatility
Although we’ve mentioned the opposite above, this point also works in favour of long-term investors. When you are a long-term investor, then you can avoid worries about market volatility since your investments will be spread out over a longer period of time. A sharp crash one day could be opposed by gradual rises over the next few months.
Step By Step Explanation of Both Processes
Essentially, long-term trading is when you invest in a stock with an intent to hold it for weeks, months or even years. In contrast, short-term trading is when you buy a stock with an intent to resell it for profit as soon as possible. So, there are several major differences between the time frame, strategy and risk tolerance of these two forms of trading. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
A short-term trader will make numerous trades within a single day, sometimes making as many as 20 or 30 trades per day. The goal of these traders is to maximise profits by buying low and selling high repeatedly throughout the day. This style of trading is often risky because if your predictions about which stocks will rise aren’t correct, you could lose all your money very quickly or you could make a big profit.
On the other hand, long-term traders will make fewer trades within a single day but will hold onto their stocks for much longer periods of time. Long-term trading is considered to be a more stable and less risky form of trading because you’re able to buy low and sell high over a longer period of time without having to worry about your money disappearing overnight. Additionally, if you’re an investor who wants to buy stocks that will rise in value over time, then long-term trading is probably right for you.
Comparison Between Both Types
Long-term and short-term traders have different goals. Long-term traders are investing in futures contracts with a time horizon of one year or more, usually making use of technical analysis to spot trends in price. Short-term traders tend to hold positions for a few days at most, but they can sometimes be profitable even if they get out before an hour has passed.
They also have very different risk profiles. Long-term traders accept lower profits in exchange for reduced risk, while short-term traders can make high returns by taking big risks.
It’s important to know what you want from your investment strategy before deciding which approach is best for you. The main purpose of both types of investors is capital appreciation through trading on price differences.
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