Email of the day (3)
Comment of the Day

October 11 2012

Commentary by David Fuller

Email of the day (3)

On trading returns:
"Warren Buffett trading (appears to be buy and hold) yields him around 20% profit per year while another investor I know of who uses a buy high sell higher long term investment strategy yields 15% per year (leveraged 2:1 so actually 30% per year). My question is how does your trading system (which appears to require a greater time investment) results compare with these?"

David Fuller's view Personally, I prefer Buffett's approach over the longer term, although medium-term momentum trading as used by the second investor you mention has its moments when a number of powerful trends are underway. It can also produce numerous short to medium-term losses in choppy markets and also when some of those new highs are close to an ending rather than the onset of another significant uptrend. As a relevant aside, I would not take all declarations of performance at face value, particularly when they are actively promoted.

I mostly use a buy-and-hold approach in my SIPPs and ISA accounts (pension / family savings). For over 40 years I have used leveraged trading to generate income although it does not always work. Trading is hard work; the learning curve is steep, and it can be very stressful. Most people lose money trading and even the very best traders will have some losing years, occasionally disastrously so. These risks have increased with the advent of algorithmic high-frequency trading.

Over the last decade, precious metal futures have provided the lion's share of my trading profits and I think the primary trend for this sector is still upwards.

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