A short-term stock investment is one where you to exit (either with a profit or a loss) less than a year after you enter into it. A long-term stock investment is one where you exit a year or more after you enter into it. For some people, the threshold between short-term and long-term is different, like 5 years.
There are a variety of ways to invest in the stock market:
- Buy and hold, long-term, and eventually sell high
- Buy low and sell high, short-term
- Shorting
- Options
- Day trading
It’s possible to make money in the stock market when stock prices are increasing and when they are decreasing.