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Online Share Trading

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Long vs Short Term Trading

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manere_fortis
Frequent Contributor
Werner, I can't contribute anything to your long vs short debate. However since you are asking all forum members to respond, let me tell you that I am a novice (8 months) and am discovering that the medium term investing that I have been trying to implement is not as easy as I thought it would be. I will own up to a 10% loss.
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Werner_1
Super Contributor
Thanks for the message! you will see as time goes by you will learn valuable info and start making cash! just work out a strategy that you stick to and don't deviate from that and you will get it!
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warhippo
Super Contributor
So Werner: "I actually bought my GND shares back the other day :)" Does that now make you a short term trader or a long term investor?
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Werner_1
Super Contributor
long term investor: every long term investor needs to sometime acquire their positions, otherwise you can't be called a trader or investor if you never get in the market!
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Werner_1
Super Contributor
long term investor: every long term investor needs to sometime acquire their positions, otherwise you can't be called a trader or investor if you never get in the market!
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Werner_1
Super Contributor
I plan on holding this company for an indefinite amount of time...
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koos2
Super Contributor
Its all face value wisdom and happy lies, only thing that counts are profits and mine suck this year!
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Rams
Super Contributor
hey koos2, thats very insightful...you could be referring to preston, who only has ACL in his portfolio and did not exit...
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Rams
Super Contributor
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Som2
Contributor
What is you "simple" investing strategy?
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Som2
Contributor
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Werner_1
Super Contributor
I believe for these short term traders, they have the view of shares and profit, obviously profit is important, but my logic is that i buy businesses and instead of only looking at the bottom line, i like to compare year on year percent gains so that i can improve all the time.
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Werner_1
Super Contributor
So Warhippo: what do you consider a long term investor?
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orange68
Super Contributor
profit is a bi-product of discipline & strategy (credit goes to Simon for that)
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Franksays
Frequent Contributor
Long term investor myself. Been here since 2006 and paid some early school fees (fortunately not too much) messing around churning, looking at warrants etc. These days and for the last 5 years I've stayed discplined, stopped churning and used a set methodology for determining value. I only own 8 individual stocks, all in different sectors: BIL, CFR, DSY, PNC, SHP, SOL and SPG locally. KO in the US. I try to keep the weightings consistant. Been tracking it the last 4 years using abacus performance calculator. 2010: 26.09%, 2011: 2.94%, 2012: 27.7%. This year my OST account has delivered a IRR of 34.3% this year. I dont have time to trade and I choose not to. I do have a system that I'd like to automate somehoe because I dont have the mental discipline or emotional fortitude to trade. So if anyone knows how to do this I'd like your advice
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Werner_1
Super Contributor
That i believe is true!
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Werner_1
Super Contributor
I like your approach! sounds similar to what my logic is.
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Not applicable
question though...what do you consider the definition of an investor?
as opposed to a trader?
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Werner_1
Super Contributor
ok, this might not be phrased right, but as people like Buffett and Graham and what I believe, Investing is buying businesses after thorough research and analysis, and then holding it for extended periods of time. i believe the easiest way to judge the difference is to see what the primary focus is, investor i believe is after holding the business, with an interest in the business growing, run properly and having ones capital appreciate as a result thereof, traders are more bothered about the price, market psychology and price change and not really worried about the underlying business at all, they there to profit from price movement. hope that story makes sense.
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Rams
Super Contributor
yes...good approach..keep only 5 in each portfolio and all different sectors
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