There are many differences between day trading and investing. Day traders aim to make small profits many times by buying large numbers of shares and selling them within short periods of time to profit from small same day movements. Day traders can make several trades in one day and even hold stocks for a few hours or minutes before they sell them back.

Day trading is more like speculating it is not investing. Some say that day trading is like gambling in some ways but I disagree. It doesn’t offer the possible security investing can offer but it is far from gambling. Day traders analyze what is going on. They educate themselves about a specific company and arm themselves with statistical analysis.

stock prices fluctuate constantly. Depending on how many people buy or sell a stock then the price changes. Day traders rely on this fact to make money. When a day trader has information that says a stock price will rise in the near future they will make a purchase and hold until right before the prices starts dropping again. It is these daily small fluctuations that the day trader depends on to make a profit.

All day traders capitalize on the small daily stock movements by trading large numbers of stock. This volatility that is actually what day traders rely on to make money is also what determines their losses. Stocks don’t always fluctuate upward and as a result day trading is a risky business.

One similarity between day trading and investing is that both require practice. You wont become a day trade nor a successful investor overnight. You will win some and loose some by practicing but you need to learn how to let the information sink in before making any big decisions about your money.

The biggest difference between a day trader and an investor has to do with time. Investors generally hold stock and assets much longer than the average day trader. Overall there is no consensus on which of the two methods generates the most returns.

Educating yourself about the techniques involved in day trading and investing is very important if you are starting out. You need to be able to spend some time and learn what is involved in the two processes.

The best thing you can do before you start investing is to speak to an Investment Advisor. You must to locate someone in your area though. If you live in Toronto then you should locate an Investment Advisor Toronto.