I think the critical word is 'be'.
Perhaps the reasons are complex and psychological rather than financial and profit-motivated. Many people want to be something/somebody who is defined and realised by what they do. On top of that, there's an in-built prejudice against defining oneself solely by one's financial worth.
Many of us have been conditioned to expect that for more work / activity, we should receive more reward: even if its not financial, we get an emotional reward from the challenge and from the outcome. But also from the act of being active in seeking and finding something - the more active, the more extended the feeling of achievement.
Perhaps the reasons are complex and psychological rather than financial and profit-motivated. Many people want to be something/somebody who is defined and realised by what they do. On top of that, there's an in-built prejudice against defining oneself solely by one's financial worth.
Many of us have been conditioned to expect that for more work / activity, we should receive more reward: even if its not financial, we get an emotional reward from the challenge and from the outcome. But also from the act of being active in seeking and finding something - the more active, the more extended the feeling of achievement.
options-george
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IMHO, Two of your assumptions might not be correct.
The profit per trade does not need to be low. It all comes down to risk/money management, stop sizing, win rate and risk-reward ratios. This also bears on the second assumption that the cost per trade is high.
It's important to be aware of the risk of having costs too high - when looking at your spread/commission relative to your target sizes and stop sizes. But once aware, you can monitor and provide for that in your trading and business plan.
Yes, it takes a lot of time. On that basis, day traders should set themselves higher ROI targets than a swing trader, because the daytraders are investing significantly more time.
EnlightenedJoe
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Same reason they go casino. It's fun and no primary school education certificate requirement for entry.
EnlightenedJoe
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Yes, skill is a factor. If someone is able to bring their burger flipping skills to average, that should be adequate for trading. Below that skill level, they won't even have enough for rent, never mind trading.
new_trader
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Law of Distinction
There are 3 kinds of Day Traders in the world. Those that can count, and those who post advice on trade2win.
Two reasons:
1) Unlimited potential for earning (and losing
2) You eat what you kill; you're your own man (or woman)
3) you make your own hours;trade as much or as little as you like there's always a market somewhere 24/5/260
There are 3 kinds of Day Traders in the world. Those that can count, and those who post advice on trade2win.
hhiusa
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I think it's partly to do with the fact that outcome of a trade is known pretty quickly with day trading. Swing trading often requires people carry overnight risk. They don't want to be left dwelling on what might or might not happen while they rest up for the day.
Yeah, it's more consistent and basically more convenient. Most traders prefer to sacrifice some % for an ability to sleep well at night
