The Difference Between Being a Tactical Investor Vs Strategic Investor

Written by admin on June 17th, 2011

So which group do you fall into? Are you a tactical or strategic investor? What’s more, do you know the difference between the two?

In reality it helps to be a bit of both, because the situation regarding the stock market could indicate that you are better off having and understanding both skills.

A tactical investor is someone who allows for shorter term changes and adjustments. For example if you spot the beginnings of a downturn in a certain stock that you hold, you might gauge whether to sell that stock and invest the money elsewhere instead. You might also hear of tactical investors being active investors, since they are constantly looking at the overall picture of their stocks and deciding where to go next.

In contrast, a strategic investor is one who looks purely to the long term. They look at the end game rather than all the situations that will occur between now and then. Because of this they manage to weather any short term losses without worrying too much, because they are always looking further down the road at the eventual outcome. They aren’t active in the same way that tactical investors are, because they have a different view of the stock market and their investments. They won’t constantly be changing from one stock to another.

Needless to say you could make or lose money with either method of investing in the stock market. The difference is that you are playing the game in a different way, either looking at short term results or long term ones.

The best thing to do if you are not sure which way to go is to explore both concepts and see which one suits your needs the best. Some people are naturally better disposed to a certain kind of investing, whereas other people will use both methods to help them realize the best return on their money.

So in essence then, we can see that tactical investors are short term thinkers. And strategic investors are long term thinkers. But you can see too that it helps to have skills from both camps. You might want to invest for the long term but if you have enough tactical skills you will know what to do if a situation comes up in the short term which could affect your plans.

And the ability to be strategic and tactical in your thinking could change everything.

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