Investing can be a complex game. While some people are traders, others are investors. Not only that but investing itself can break down even further! Buying stocks and shares isn’t just a case of finding a lucrative brand or line and making a quick purchase. However, providing you are willing to put the time into your pursuits, there is nothing to say you won’t make a great success of your portfolio.
But what about active investing and passive investing? What are these two terms actually referring to? What are the key differences? To become the next Buckley Ratchford, it’s important to understand some of the broader and more in-depth terms facing you on the markets. Ratchford, a renowned philanthropist, likely has plenty of advice to give regarding investing choices!
In the here and now, let’s break down the two different types of investing and consider which option may fit your own portfolio needs and goals best.
What is passive investing?
Passive investing is ideal for long-term wins and gains. In this, you passively invest money by focusing more on buying to hold, rather than to competitively stretch ahead of the index. Crucially, passive investing can take a lot of nerve! It is all about making sure you invest within your means and within your safe zones, rather than getting tempted by the interesting moves that the market makes at any one time.
Passive investing is growing more popular in the modern age thanks to the rise of modern technology and app-based stock portfolios. It is not unheard of for experienced traders and market rookies alike to use apps and tools online to fully automate their investments. However, you can apply human insight along the way. Passive investing is a matching game, not a competitive way for you to beat the indexes. These portfolios also don’t have active managers in play.
For many people, this is hugely beneficial. There is an argument that effective investment long term needs to be free from human emotions and impassioned decision-making. Ultimately, to make the best of the market, some argue, you are going to need to think like a machine. That means taking yourself out of the high emotions and being sure to strive to meet targets, not to always chase the big win.
Passive investing tends to be a better option for those people who want to build big gains over time, and who don’t want to spend their lives looking at the markets. This also tends to be a cheaper option in the main, as fees can often be much lower than through active investing. That said, many will argue that active investing brings forward bigger wins, sooner than you may expect.
What is active investing?
As you may expect, active investing lets you go all-in on your stock choices and portfolio building. This is where you will actively monitor the indexes and take chances on big changes in the markets. That means taking a close look at dips and peaks, and riding with volatility. It also means that you are going to need to do a lot of research to make some serious headway.
However, many investors will advise that the active model is likely to be your best option when it comes to scoring big wins. There is also the fact that actively pursuing goals in this way is very exciting! However, it does, of course, arrive with a fair amount of risk – meaning that seasoned investors are perhaps better suited to this model than newbie traders.
Active investing also relies on human portfolio management, which means that you do often place the success of your stocks in the hands of other people. That shouldn’t be too much of a hassle providing you choose the best firm for the job. Your portfolio managers must be absolutely resolute in removing themselves emotionally from chasing targets. This is not easy for new traders to do, but for experienced managers, it should come second nature.
Ultimately, active investing is always going to be the preferred option for anyone who wants to make money regularly that genuinely makes a difference. Some investors neither have the resources nor the patience to ride the waves of passive investing!
Which option is best?
Essentially, the type of investing model you stick to really depends on what you want to get out of your portfolio. If you are keen to build capital in the long run and don’t mind automating the process, a passive route will likely work best. For cryptocurrency markets, for example, this may be the ‘safe route.’
However, for the thrill of the chase and those big market wins, you may perhaps wish to look closer at a more active way of doing things. However, there’s nothing to say a hybrid approach won’t work, either!