{"id":659157,"date":"2025-05-16T15:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ftmo.com\/?p=659157"},"modified":"2025-05-16T15:25:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:25:51","slug":"you-want-to-go-against-the-market-beware-of-risk-management-and-ego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ftmo.com\/en\/you-want-to-go-against-the-market-beware-of-risk-management-and-ego\/","title":{"rendered":"You want to go against the market? Beware of risk management and ego"},"content":{"rendered":"
Among traders and investors, there is a significant group of those who are unwilling or unable to open short positions and speculate only on the growth of a given investment instrument. However, apart from them, there are also traders who do the opposite.<\/em><\/p>\n The fact that some traders have a problem with opening short positions<\/a> may seem logical at first glance. Especially for long-term investors who place their funds in, for example, stocks, shorting is impractical or technically almost impossible, so this attitude is not too surprising. For short-term trades using leverage, it doesn’t make much sense anymore, but the reluctance to short can be excused here by psychological blocks or fear.<\/p>\n The opposite extreme is the group of traders who open only short positions and avoid long positions. One of their most common reasons is the opportunity to make big money faster on shorts, as the declines are much faster than the increases. It is true that the growth in stocks, for example, is in most cases gradual and long term, but when the price does fall, it is quite fast. Bear markets usually don’t last long (relatively speaking), but they are very significant, so there may be some truth to this. One discussant on Reddit summed it up by saying that “it tends to be that short makes profit in an elevator and long makes profit on an escalator (or stairs)”.<\/p>\n Furthermore, this approach is based on the belief that nothing can grow forever. This is admittedly true, and even true for stocks, where investors most often tend to expect constant upward growth. The problem with this approach, however, is that it can be quite difficult to predict the right moment when markets will turn around and start to fall. Many unsuccessful contrarians among stock investors will attest to this because they have lost a lot of money by taking this approach.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
Will shorting make you money faster?<\/h2>\n
Nothing grows in the sky<\/h2>\n