Any day traders out there?

[Bogie]

Wow! The last two days in the stock market have been notable. Volatility makes day traders happy but you have to be on your toes. I usually figure that big fast moves in either direction can be traded but just sat on my hands today and watched in awe.

[Larry Jacks]

It'd be faster to just put your money in a big pile and burn it. It'd probably end up costing you less that day trading. From what I've read, the percentage of day traders who actually make a consistent profit is quite small.

[Bogie]

It'd be faster to just put your money in a big pile and burn it. It'd probably end up costing you less that day trading. From what I've read, the percentage of day traders who actually make a consistent profit is quite small.But I have a system :D. (Famous last words, right?)

[Torsten]

I get more annoyed than excited by the daily swings.

I buy and hold, and tend to keep stocks, trust units, or equity mutual funds for several years. It's boring, but effective, and over 20 years it's given me satisfactory results. I don't have a pension plan, but I don't plan to be poor in retirement.

Now, what those fund managers are doing is quite another thing, but their performance has generally been better than my stock picks.

[Bogie]

You are smart to have a long term perspective and you are right about getting satisfactory results that way. If you are adding to your funds regularly that is even better because you end up dollar-cost-averaging by buying more shares when the price is down and fewer shares when the price is up. Keep it up.

I'm retired and my trading is done with a small portion of our funds which I have managed to make grow (after a learning period of many years of investing :)).

[Noclevername]

Day trading is just legalized gambling. If you want thrills, day trade. If you want money, use long-term high-yield investments.

[KaiYeves]

What are day traders?

[Trebuchet]

Day trading is just legalized gambling. If you want thrills, day trade. If you want money, use long-term high-yield investments.

I've often said the difference between Las Vegas and Wall Street is there are lots fewer crooks in Vegas.

Seriously, day-trading is essentially parasitic. It contributes nothing to society except a little tax money. I'd favor a capital gains tax rate of 1000% on assets held less than six months.

[Noclevername]

What are day traders?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_trading

Another wonder made possible by the ol' system of intertubes.

[Bogie]

It is like gambling but there is also plenty of skill involved. Actually there are many professional gamblers and professional day traders. You must have a feel for the market and be able to recognize when it gets out of balance with fair value. Fair value is pretty subjective so you learn by experience.

[Van Rijn]

Seriously, day-trading is essentially parasitic. It contributes nothing to society except a little tax money. I'd favor a capital gains tax rate of 1000% on assets held less than six months.

I'm not a fan of day trading, but I don't understand the point of such punitive measures. What's your argument?

[Bogie]

I've often said the difference between Las Vegas and Wall Street is there are lots fewer crooks in Vegas.

Seriously, day-trading is essentially parasitic. It contributes nothing to society except a little tax money. I'd favor a capital gains tax rate of 1000% on assets held less than six months.Actually you are wrong about that. Day traders provide liquidity to the market. If no one was willing to buy during a crash how low could your investment go before you found a buyer?

[KaiYeves]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_trading
Another wonder made possible by the ol' system of intertubes.
Thank you. Information on Earth economics will be much appreciated by The Council.

[Spock Jenkins]

Trading selling covered calls is much better way to generate income from an existing portfolio and far less risky than day trading. Worse that can happen is you get cash for your call sale and you sell the stock for a higher price. Oh the travesty. If you really like the stock and want to keep it - this probably isn't the way to go.

Trading naked options is very risky though. Some strategies can result in a potentially unlimited loss and a very limited gain. I know one person who went the wrong way on an option trade and lost $50,000 on zero investment. Oops.

It really is the dirty secret of playing the market. Strategies such as spreads and straddles, naked buying and selling. Nothing to introduce the childrens to before they're ready.