Newbie question...

[Guest Chippy_boy]

Hello chaps, I am new on here - been trading only for a couple of days.

 

I have a basic question and wasn't sure where to ask it, so hope this is an OK place to do so... but how long can I keep a position open?  Is there any time limit?

 

Thanks

[Mercury]

I believe there is no time limit except for certain futures contracts like Oil where the contract period has a set close point.  If you trade DFB that is not an issue.  The only issue with holding trades for a long period is there is a financing cost to holding them .  In addition if your positon is short on stocks or indices you will be hit negatively by dividends.  So you need to make sure you re holding for a strong move.  if you are not sure then you need to swing trade each wave up and down.  When you enter a trade you need a good rational for why your are entering at that point and a target exit already worked out via your analysis.  If you don't do this you have no road map for your trade and are likely to miss profit taking opportunities and probably take losses instead of profits.

[Guest Chippy_boy]

Thanks Adrian

 

I am new and learning the ropes, so your advice is very helpful.  I've been experimenting with day trading to start with, simply buying and selling with range trading and looking for trends and trend reversals.  I've found I can make money reasonably reliably, but it's full-on and needs my total concentration!

 

So I'd also like to take some longer term positions on thinks like forex, oil price etc.  Hence my question.

 

Thanks again!