It is broadly acknowledged within the world of trading that a trader will either go long or short on an asset. This is the common knowledge. When a trader takes a long position, they purchase an asset with the assumption that its value will rise over the course of time. When a trader takes a short position, they sell an asset with the hope that its value would fall over the course of time. Nonetheless, there are situations when traders may opt to short an asset in the short term while holding a long position in that asset for the long term. In this content, we'll investigate the possible motivations for this strategy used by traders.
Learning the Differences Between Long-Term and Short-Term Trading
It is crucial to understand the distinctions between long-term trading and short-term trading before we get into the reasons why traders could take a long-term long position and a short-term short position. Trading on the long term includes maintaining a position for a longer period of time, often for many years or more, with the hope that the value of the underlying asset would increase. Trading on the short term, on the other hand, entails keeping a position for a much shorter amount of time, often for little more than a few days, with the intention of making a profit from very minor price shifts.
Why Taking Long-Term Positions in the Long-Term and Short-Term Positions in the Short-Term May Make Sense
A trader may choose to take either a long-term long position or a short-term short position on an asset for a number of different reasons, including the following:
1. A trader may protect themselves against the short-term volatility of an asset by holding a short position on the asset for the short term, while still keeping a long position for the long term.
This strategy is known as hedging. Taking use of this strategy may assist the trader in weathering short-term market changes without the need to liquidate their long position.
2. Benefit from short-term trends
Even while a trader may have a positive outlook on an asset over the long term, there may still be short-term trends that may be capitalized on by taking short-term short positions. Traders are able to maximize their earnings while still keeping a long-term long position if they recognize these patterns and capitalize on them.
3. Risk reduction Traders may reduce the amount of risk associated with their long-term long holdings by taking short-term short positions in addition.
Without having to actually sell the asset, traders may mitigate some of the risks associated with their long-term long position by adopting a short-term short position instead of selling the asset.
Trading based on opportunities: traders may also take short-term short positions in trading based on opportunities. A trader may, for instance, take a short-term short position in order to gain on a quick drop in the price of an asset while still retaining a long-term long position. This would be done while the trader would still be holding on to a long position.
Conclusion
Taking a long-term long position on an asset while simultaneously having a short-term short position on the same asset may seem to be illogical; yet, there are a number of reasons why traders may opt to take this method.
Traders are able to maximize their earnings while still keeping a long-term long position if they hedge against short-term volatility, benefit from short-term trends, mitigate risks, and take advantage of opportunistic trading opportunities.
Traders, on the other hand, should carefully analyse their approach and make certain that their trades are in line with the overall investing objectives and level of risk tolerance they have set for themselves.
The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.