It would appear that in this instance his strategy of trading the asset numerous times over the years has led to significantly less yield than if he would have

It would appear that in this instance his strategy of trading the asset numerous times over the years has led to significantly less yield than if he would have bought and held. If you have an edge on the market there's a good chance you're either breaking the law or deluding yourself. Not that some people haven't found legal edges and made vast fortunes from them - sophisticated mathematicians have for instance. But there's many more who confused dumb luck for alpha and ended up underperforming the market or broke over time. You're right though - buy and hold is generally best applied to a diverse set of assets. If you're making direct plays on companies and have little ability to influence the board and leadership then that's a lot of unhedged risk. Warren Buffet's advice is often confused with making directional stock plays. He buys enough to get board seats and can influence the direction of the company and has a track record of doing this well. Regular people will never have enough of a bankroll to qualify for a board seat or have influence on the management. And yes, many day traders and swing traders have some strategies based on short term changes in an asset but taxes are the killer. Short term capital gains are taxed the same as labor but with considerably more risk.