I used to day trade, and I must say, it was quite a thrilling experience. I can’t believe I just used that word but anyway…. I would get into a stock around 10am and exit the same stock 30 seconds or less (much less) later. The debate (between a few friends and fellow bloggers) is whether or not day traders provide liquidity. I honestly think they do, and it’s so obvious that they do. You disagree? Ok! What if everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY – Retail, Institutional, etc – practiced Mr. Buffett’s buy and hold strategy? To save time we don’t have, it’s a rhetorical question. The answer is simple. The market would be illiquid, like Berkshire’s stock. The new strategy was (or still is by many) to get in at the bottom and profit handsomely from the high.
MBAs try to predict the market’s bottom and constantly get it wrong. Buy low sell high right? I hate long blog posts so to sum this up. Forget trying to find a stock’s bottom (giggidy), and don’t beat yourself up when you make a profit (you Capitalist YOU!) and watch as the stock you just sold goes up some more. Remember that saying – Bulls make money, bears make money, but GREEDY pigs.hogs get slaughtered.
P.S. – I manage SIMPLEROBB.COM INVESTMENTS which is a long term stock portfolio, but I’m never afraid to take a profit.