Swing Trade

Swing trading is a trading strategy that follows short-term trends and takes advantage of pullbacks and rallies to achieve gains in a stock or other investment security. Swing traders hold their positions longer than day traders but shorter than long-term investors  

When Swing Traders expect an upward swing, then they must take advantage of the movement and buy, and the inverse is a downward swing.  The upward or downward price movement of a security is referred to as a swing. The swing traders must try to capture a swing that is most likely to happen. Such trading is possible only within the frame of the clear-cut trend. A calm market or periods of high volatility are rather improper.

A Swing trader enters a trade at the pullback and exits at the rally, a swing trade will typically take place over the course of more than one day and up to a few weeks, this helps him time the market well by selling or buying at an appropriate price to make substantial gains.

Swing traders often create a set of trading rules based on technical or fundamental analysis. This means swing traders must familiarize themselves with, technical analysis using these techniques as a set of guiding principles for their decisions. They should also understand, fundamental analysis examining the asset’s fundamentals to support their technical evaluation. 

Swing trading, like other styles of trading, has its advantages and disadvantages. If good opportunities can be identified, and losses can be minimized with successful stop-loss techniques, swing trading can be profitable. But swing trading has its unique risks and drawbacks.

 

Pros of Swing Trading

 

Profit potential: Has higher potential for larger returns per trade.   A trader can potentially maximize gains by taking advantage of short-term price movement, or swings in price. Often requires less time and attention than day trading.

Simplicity: May be able to trade while the markets are closed,  Swing trading can take less time than day trading and it can be more simple than investing which involves fundamental analysis.

Cons of Swing Trading

Market timing: Capital markets tend to behave more randomly in the short term, compared to the long term, which makes the timing of the swing trades more challenging. May miss out on greater profits while chasing part of trends

Market risk: Swing trading can amplify market risk, due to the unpredictability of the market in the short term. Has a higher potential for larger losses per trade