Unless you are a floor trader or trying to scalp off a screen (good luck with that) then we are all basically investors no matter what our poison, the question then just becomes what is our preferred timeframe, and method of operation Markets display similar behavioural characteristics in all timeframes from tick chart through to however long a period your charting package displays, easy to see, much harder to make money from, with the shortest timeframes being the hardest.lol. Smart investing starts with finding the optimum point to enter available at that particular point in time. So some simple maths will show how great the positive percentage return is impacted compared to the risk taken on, think of it as a sliding rule, the better the entry the lower the risk if done correctly, generally, buy and hold is fraught with danger because of this mathamatical phenomenon to the downside as well. Therefore, I would suggest that it is imperative that an investor have an understanding about what is loosely referred to as trading. Another point relating to risk management is that a small percentage can be used to make superiour returns whilst the balance of the assets can be invested in low risk areas, allowing for far better overall returns with lower risk and if done smartly no risk of loss apart from possibly inflation or opportunity cost. Therefore, a good understanding about what is loosely referred to as trading is critical to overall success.
Cheers John
