It is possible to be an investor and a trader in today's market.
Investing and trading have different goals and strategies that make them unique. Time is the major difference between them.
Each term is related to the amount of time that assets are held.
When you make an investment, you are looking at keeping long term assets in your portfolio. Trading usually applies to holding an asset for a short or medium amount of time. Many investors' goals are to build profits over time by buying and holding assets for the long term. This is referred to as hodling with cryptocurrency trading, based on a forum post by a user who had too much whiskey.
Either way, hodling or holding is a real-world strategy. It generally means that no matter how far a purchased asset drops in price, the investor will hodl or hold on to the asset until it increases in price.
Stocks and bonds are common investments, although there are many more, including real estate, insurance, options, investment funds, cryptocurrencies, and more.
Trading involves many of the same assets as investing, and the main difference between them is the markets. Trading brings buyers and sellers together to buy and sell with a focus on making money fast. Traders will study up to date pricing, charts, and industry news to educate themselves on the value of the assets.
They thoroughly analyze the data to decide on a course of action and strategy. Although small and medium trades are associated with trading, there are times when larger trades happen.
You can expect the same kinds of outcomes with trading and investing. They measure up very similarly with small profits or losses, or large profits or losses. There is also the break-even that can occur in trading and investing.