Day trading is not some get rich quick scheme or an erratic form of gambling, it is a proper business that takes times, effort, discipline and patience to learn, just like most other professions. What many people don’t realize is that big banks also ‘day trade,’ yet no one is calling them gamblers.
THE FALACY OF BLUE CHIPS
Blue Chips are large companies with solid reputations. Financially fit, with dependable earnings and even dividends. Let’s take a look at a few ‘Blue Chip’ stocks using the buy and hold methodology. These are considered to be ‘good,’ ‘solid’ investments for long term holds. You know, the kinds of stocks that can weather any storm. The kind of companies that you couldn’t possibly go wrong if you owned them. They are intertwined into the very fabric of the American culture, managed by some of the brightest minds in the industry. Disney, Walmart, Visa, Intel etc. Let’s take a look at a few.
If you guessed the above chart was General Electric (GE), then you are correct. Founded in 1892 and a market cap of over $260 billion dollars. If you bought GE at just about anytime between 2000 and 2007, you are still NEGATIVE on your investment. That is roughly 15-16 years of being ‘underwater’ on a long term blue chip investment. As you can see, buy and hold is not always a great idea. In case you think I cherry picked the ‘only’ one, here are a couple more: