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Yes, that is one of the stories people tell themselves. Brokers can trade assets on the timescales of small fractions of seconds. It is even more fleeting than
by Finnucane 6y ago
Yes, that is one of the stories people tell themselves. Brokers can trade assets on the timescales of small fractions of seconds. It is even more fleeting than the casino. At least in Vegas you might get some free drinks.
- lxgr 6y agoYes, there are various levels of risk both in the market and in a casino, and there are quick ways to lose everything in either if you set your mind to it. But the main difference is that in an economy with a general upwards trend, everyone has a decent chance of leaving with more than they entered with. In a casino, every single game has the odds stacked against you. It's a zero-sum game.
- Finnucane 6y agoYou think Wall Street isn’t stacked against you?
- lxgr 6y agoFor long-term investing? No. Yes, maybe I lose a few basis points to HFT at each buy and sale, and maybe somebody is getting rich off those pennies in aggregate. But that's largely irrelevant to me as a buy-and-hold investor. And yes, it probably means that individuals "trading" on Robinhood lose on average. By definition, not everyone in the market can beat the market, and my empathy here is limited: Not everybody has to be a daytrader.