are buy side traders better than the sell side counterpart?

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OTCkrak

this is an old adage that I believe to be unwarranted with no evidence.

i concede that the very best trader in the world, (however you define that) is most likely on the buy side based on compensation incentive.. but i believe the most experienced specialists, market makers, dealers moving the biggest volume may very well know the market better than some schmuck taking orders from investment managers.

i define trader as someone who actively enters and exists the market for any reason as their main job function.
 
The short answer is YES.

The reason behind is that buyer has a big brother behind them - our "smart" government that don't hesitate to print money :D
 
Historically, the general stock market has seen appreciation. Since the beginning of any market, there would be a stat I'm sure that favored buying over selling.

Regardless, I am trying to teach myself to trade either side and eliminate any bias I have to buying or selling, because, anything can happen at anytime, especially in the stock market. In my short lifespan of trading, the market really hasn't gone anywere. So if I were long side only I'd have missed out on 50% of possible maximum profits!
 
Quote from adamm2:

Historically, the general stock market has seen appreciation. Since the beginning of any market, there would be a stat I'm sure that favored buying over selling.

Regardless, I am trying to teach myself to trade either side and eliminate any bias I have to buying or selling, because, anything can happen at anytime, especially in the stock market. In my short lifespan of trading, the market really hasn't gone anywere. So if I were long side only I'd have missed out on 50% of possible maximum profits!
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lol, I don't think that was the buy and sell side that the OP was talking about. Think MM, brokers for Sell side, and hedgefunds, prop for the buyside.
 
I vote Buyside, with respect for the sellside.

Why? More action / effort behind the act of Buying - they dont HAVE to buy (or sell, act really), but do. Without them, there is no activity / vol(ume)(itility).

Much respect for the sellside though in making the market possible in the first place.

Has nothing to do with / no bearing on who is smarter. Just the dynamics of the experience.
 
Quote from Shanb:

lol, I don't think that was the buy and sell side that the OP was talking about. Think MM, brokers for Sell side, and hedgefunds, prop for the buyside.
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Yea, I'm not familiar with the rules regarding those players. So I could offer only what I did.

Are there special incentives for those groups?
 
Have you seen a 100 year chart of the market? The last 100+ years obviously gave an advantage to buyers.. if you wait long enough you eventually get bailed out ... is it about to change though? I think so

it is possible that we are making a LH(lower high) here or even moving into a range on the grand timescale...

as far as just day trading goes i think the advantage is neutral
 
Quote from OTCkrak:
yeah, just to clarify.. i meant sell side and buy side quote on quote of the industry.
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As I said, it's impossible to answer your question w/o making a distinction between the mkt-making and prop activities. Believe it or not, there are quite a lot of good mkt-makers out there who don't do prop, especially nowadays. Obviously, it's also true the other way round. And you can't compare a good mkt-maker to a good prop guy, because the two skills are very different in a whole variety of ways.
 
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