What kind of trader are you?
altFINS can help active traders regardless of their trading style or preference.
| Trader profile |
Day trader |
Swing trader |
Position trader (aka HODLER) |
| Time intervals used | Short Time Intervals (1m, 5m, 15m) | Intermediate Time Intervals (1h, 4h, 12h, 1d) | Longer Time Intervals (1d, 1wk, 1mo) |
| Trade frequency | Dozens of trades per day | Fewer trades (1-10 a day) | Few trades (~20 a year) |
| Trading strategies | Too many to list
Heavily reliant on technical analysis, and reading of candle patterns |
Tends to look for multi-day chart patterns including moving average crossovers, cup-and-handle patterns, head and shoulders patterns, flags, and triangles. Key reversal candlesticks may be used as well | Trend following (SMA or EMA crossovers)
Often suplemented with fundamental outlook |
| Pros | Potential for large profits
Lots of trades allow for quicker learning process if risk is managed (proper position sizing, use of stop loss orders, etc.)
|
Requires less time than Day Trading
Maximizes short-term profit potential by capturing most of market swings Traders can rely entirely on technical analysis, simplifying the trading process |
Lowest time commitment needed.
Works well in markets with sustained trends (equities, commodities) where technical analysis can be sumplemented with fundamental analysis |
| Cons | Very time consuming, stressful. Prone to more false signals
Compete with automated algos, high frequency trading (HFT) systems, hedge funds. |
Abrupt market reversals can result in substantial losses
Swing traders often miss longer-term trends in favor of short-term market moves |
Does not work well in volatile markets like cryptocurrencies, where fundamental valuations are not well established |
| Commission expenses | High | Medium | Low |