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Making stock trades has a lot of different uses by different people. For some people a stock is basically a poker chip to be flipped once or twice before lunch. For other people a stock is a company that can make you wealthy if you just buy it and stick with it.
When it comes to buying and holding your investments, playing for keeps tends to be a winning strategy. Some of the wealthiest investors in the world are long-term types. While George Soros might be an exception who’s done well for himself, most people who attempt to trade rapidly end up doing far worse for themselves. The general rule is that if you hold on for long enough, a good company will show itself to be solid and reliable. You can make your fortune by letting the price appreciate over time, reinvesting the dividends and doing little else.
The most you need to do when you hold a stock for a long time — meaning decades in some cases — is to make sure the company remains solidly run. So long as you ensure that the latest CEO is an upright person with an IQ greater than a turnip, a solid company will last through just about any kind of bad news. While the share price might go down sometimes, ultimately a great company stays the course and goes the distance. While that might be a couple of cliche statements, you can shrug over cliches all the way to your retirement villa.
