Trading and investing are two different mindsets.

Both involve buying shares, but the intention and time horizon will be completely different.

• Investing means buying a share of a good, stable company and holding it for years, letting the business grow, and your money grow with it. It’s long-term, like planting a tree and waiting for the produce.
• Trading means buying and selling shares over shorter periods (days, weeks, months) to profit from price movements, not from the company’s long-term growth. Trading is like running a small shop where you buy and sell frequently.

Different types of investing:

1. Active and Passive:

Active investing is to beat the index (Nifty 50, Sensex) by actively managing the investment portfolio.

Passive investing: it’s a less aggressive approach, such as investing in an index fund (Nifty 50 index fund).

2. Growth and Value:

Growth investors prefer to invest in companies in their growth stage.

Value investors prefer companies that the market undervalues.

Different types of trading:

1. Scalping:

Buy and sell in seconds or minutes

2. Intraday trading:

Buy and sell within a day

3. Swing trading:

Buy, hold for a week or a few weeks, and sell

4. Position trading:

Buy, hold for a month or a few months, and sell

Neither is “better”:

They’re different games with different skills, risk levels, and time commitments. Many people do both, in different parts of their lives.

The best example to understand the difference is:  “Investing is like buying a house to live in for 20 years. Trading is like buying a house to renovate and sell in 6 months. Same asset, completely different game.”

StocksNStats may help you find stocks for these types of trading and investing, which you can add to your watchlist for further research.