It is like that chart Water posted up above...Trend channel is flowing nicely up up up. But for tech, the gains of the X-Mas holiday season may not be realized until end of 1Q 2018, so a further drop cannot be discounted. Over the super-long-term, all signs point to up. As it has since like forever.
Yeah I agree... this market has such a long bias... But I still love love love the short side. Those trades go faster and I spend less time in the shorts. I will never understand why the average investor has never shorted anything.
The "average investor" invests in a company for long-term growth (or many companys' growth if in a growth mutual fund). That means going long and holding. That is investing. They want dividends, and perhaps capital gains. Shorting a company is not really investing in it...It is betting on the company's failure to survive.
totally true.... I believe if the average investor even could comprehend how a short works they would be interested. I have people all the time say "boy I guess today/this week/etc... was horrible for you" they are referring to down days/weeks.... When I say "hell no, it was awesome, I was short" They have absolutely no clue what the hell I am talking about, even when I explain.
Like I mentioned earlier, I do not think the "average investor" should get involved with trying to "short their investment". I am "invested" in the health-care sector, but I don't want to trade it per se. It is a very long-term "investment". It will have it's ups and downs, but then again, so does a GC contract day-to-day. Or YM. My futures contracts do not pay me dividends or interest since they are trading vehicles. But my mutual fund is. Besides, I cannot trade my mutual fund the way I trade futures. If I were to try to trade my mutual fund, an investment, I would be subject to wash-sale rules, which would negate all gains. No point then.
Fair enough... but really, have you ever tried to explain how you short to someone... I have literally had people ask if that is illegal!
I have never found the need to explain that to someone, since I do not have friends or acquaintances who care about that sort of thing. But shorting is easy. Promise to deliver, but before delivery, you buy back that which you wished to sell so you are zeroed out, make monies. *poof*