Experienced investors, is day trading a good idea?

Question

I just want to hear from serious investors what they think about day trading. I think that it is a bad idea? What are your thoughts? No I don't want to visit any websites to make money for all of the bots that seem to rule this section.

Answer 1

my bF is a day trader.

he has been doing it for roughly 7 yrs and he can make really good money. HOWEVER he is very experienced. he has been a trader for roughly 18 yrs and has been a day trader for nearly half of that.

i would NOT recommend it if you dont know what you are doing.

he told me in the last 6 weeks he has earn 250k and on friday when i was at his place... he did some trades wich took 20 mins of the whole day and he made $18,000.

like the other people in other answers have posted you have to be very very serious about day trading and my bf is. he has things in place like he pays a small fee for them to send him messages to his mobile phone if the price changes and so if he is not sitting right infront of his computer he still can trade from his mobile phone/smartphone so yeah on friday we were drinking long island iced teas... watching dvds and we went and had lunch and @ 3:30pm he got some messages on his fone 2 say its the prices are where he wants the shares 2 be and so he ran to the computer.. did trades in the last 20 mins and made 18k just doing that.

he told me he lost $100,000 8 weeks ago but then 8 weeks later he made $250,000 so i guess it all evens out and some days you can lose alot of $$$ and some days you can get alot of $$$. its very risky and i will only recommend it if

a, ur willing to be dedicated and sit there and watch the market or have things in place like sending msges to your phone when the market changes.

b, have experience and know what your doing.

c, again like the above guy said.. requires alot of capital. you wouldnt make much on $2,000 to start with.

even tho i think it evens out he earns roughly about $600,000 a year on average doing daytrading and ive been with him for 4 yrs so i knows its been consistant as ive seen proof and when iam at his place i do some trades with him and stuff 2.

Answer 2

Only you can decide if it's for you.

You must have a plan as to how to proceed.

Nothing wrong with paper trading a market to see how you might do.

Keep records of exactly when you are taking a position. Get out of losing positions.

You can even get paper trading accounts online.

Pick a market and try to get to know it in detail. If it's the stock market you're interested in, pick a few hi beta stocks and try to learn their patterns.

If you have to ask others about this subject, it is probably NOT right for you.

If you're American and you're using the stock market, you must put up 25 K to be a day trader. If you use the futures market and want to trade, say, the ES, then the amt in your acct can be much lower.

But do get an education before you trade for real. You have plenty of time to get rich. Most day traders lose money. You must work hard to be successful at this.

Understand the stock market is in a bear market. Short positions are probably the way to go, and shorting is against the grain of many people. Plus the SEC might be on the verge of cracking down on short selling. You must keep up with current events to see what restrictions the gov might impose.

Answer 3

remember day trading is not investing, it is speculating on short term stock movements which often have very little to do with the investment value of the security

Answer 4

Day trading is only good if you are truly dedicated to it. I decided to be a day trader over the summer. I quit my life guarding job and began listening to bloomberg radio and cnbc t.v all day. I wake up every mourning Monday-Friday and try to find hot stocks to buy.

** Lake lover if you or anyone else is reading this i would love to hear any additional advise you have to offer on day trading or anything else that has to do with business. My email is [e-mail]

Answer 5

It is the difference between "investing" and "speculating".

With investing you are giving your money to a company you think will use it to make more money longer term.

With speculating you are buying a stock with the idea in a DAY you can sell it to somebody else for more money. Your money is only being made off the other traders.

You have to think you are better at it than they are for some reason.

With all the professionals and their computer trading systems despite all my years and experience investing I do not believe I am better than the others over a single day, every day.

Answer 6

over 85% of day traders losssssssssssssssse $$$$$$$$$$$$$

do not belife the hype.

only well-educted-experianced,and option user could profit from this market.

it's hard to predcit the market.

be focu and trade in safe way like health care product like pfe,jnj..

you could buy slowly some storng banking like wfc.

Answer 7

It is a good way to make a small fortune -- if you start with a large one.

Answer 8

Very few people make money day trading over a period of time.  Please do not risk your money in that fashion.

Answer 9

Just like all other trading and/or investing, if your good at it you make money and a lot of it.

Although I am basically a position trader, there's no way would I have any opposition to day trading.   If I were to buy something and the stock spiked, I would sell it in a New York minute. But at the same time I do have investments which lets me carry positions for a longer period of time.

There are many reasons for buying securities. Some are investors who are long term, while others are short.  There are many types of traders from scalpers to short termers.  I have floor people who must be day traders, while my inside traders can trade short term.

I've been in the market since I've been 12 years old, and have worked in it for over 40 years, I do my thing, and it has served me very well, I don't  care what others think nor do I look down on others for what they do or why they do it.

Everyone buys stocks for their own reasons and employ strategies  that best suit them, and they should not care what others do nor what their opinions are.

Answer 10

I have been a trader for over 40 years.  It is possible to make a lot of money day trading, but it is more likely that the day trader will lose his pants.

Before Apple personal computers (THANK YOU!  Steve Jobs!!) I spent all day everyday at a local brokerage with my eyes glued to the ticker tape. I bought in the early morning and usually sold in the late afternoon.  I bought only big heavily traded market leaders.  I demanded liquidity. When I saw a stock ticking up on better than average volume, I bought. When the stock ticked down more than up I sold right away.  I was smart.  But the 'market' was equally smart.  In those days you did not get an immediate return on your execution.  Sometimes you did not get a fill on your order for half an hour,  whereas today market orders are usually filled in seconds.   I was a little paranoid and  thought my broker was skimming me a few cents per share on every market order. My hair started turning grey before I was was 40.    A good week in the 1960's I might make $100. No benefits.  No paid vacation.

The internet and the iMac made it possible for me to focus at watching EVERY trade of a stock, all day, every day.  I chart those trades, capturing spreads, volume of each trade crossing as an uptick or a downtick,  and the changes in the bid and ask.   Most investors don't agree, but some traders do agree that instinct can be important in trading. Regardless of all the technical aids, after 45 years, I still sometimes lose my discipline and follow my gut feeling-- my instinct. I manage to profit on about 60% of my trades. That has been very good to me...

I am never greedy.  Let the guy  who bought my shares, make the next quarter dollar.  I do not short stocks.

But when I lose, I tend to lose big.  I have a private office where I work -- away from any distractions.  I need that. I have seen a nice profit on my computer dwindle into a staggering loss in the time It takes to use the bathroom.

So my answer is Yeah, you can make money day trading but it is hard work, requires a lot of capital, requires a strong stomach and  nerves of steel.  Its not for the faint of heart.  I don't know if it is for YOU, I don't recommend it to anyone.   But I have a love/ hate relationship for day trading. Its what I do.  One last piece of advice:  Forget options. Ya hear me?  Forget options.

Answer 11

its fine. i make money.

Answer 12

I have never tried true day trading, but do like to day trade one or two stocks per day when the opportunity presents itself. I mostly do swing trades holding 3 days to three months. Yes, I have owned some stocks for over 20 years.

The study that states 85% of day traders is pure c**p. It was done in year the 2000 when the market crashed and you had a bunch of newbies the had only experienced a bull market.

With so much misinformation out there, I have no clue on what % of day traders make money, I just know it would not fit me personally.