Trade vs Investment

When comparing trades and investments the first thing that comes to my mind is time. A trade usually lasts for less than six months, where an investment lasts longer than six months. If you buy a share of a company as an investment you will probably get a dividend. A dividend is where the company sends out small amounts of money to everybody who has a share in their company, this probably won't come out to be a lot of money. In a trade you don't usually get a dividend because you haven't been with the company long enough. In a trade if the value of your stock decreases you should probably sell if the catalyst has already happened; if the catalyst has not happened yet wait until it has and then you make a decision. In an investment if your stock goes down you can wait it out, sell it, or buy more. In my opinion the best thing to do here is buy more shares because that means you will start making money at a lower price. If a stock increases during a trade you could sell, but the best thing to do is wait until two or three days after the catalyst and then sell. If your investment is going up just keep letting it go up until it gets around 15%. When it comes to trades always wait until after the catalyst to try and sell. If you are investing you might go through several catalysts and still not sell. Short selling is a short term trade where you bet against the market.