After a year marked by fear, uncertainty, and a scrambled response to the worst public health crisis the world has seen in the last hundred years, 2021 seemed like a significantly calmer time. At least that's what anyone looking at the markets would see. Reuters reported that during last year the S&P 500 had only seven sessions with a 2% gain or loss. A year before, it had forty-four. For the Nasdaq, 2021 saw twenty-four such sessions, compared to fifty-five of 2020. By these accounts, 2021 was a calmer and less volatile year than 2020.
For those thinking the calm after the storm is the perfect time to dip their toes and start trading stocks, swing trading is one of the options they can try out. john (Ultra Calls), now a successful professional day trader, it was swing trading that piqued his interest in the stock market.
"At the time, I was working in eye care and was a director of five locations," Ultra Calls explains. "Then I met this surgeon who did swing trading. As a guy who always dreamed big, I decided to take my chance and go into the markets." What ensued was a crash, followed by a stellar rise into an illustrious career that's seeing further soaring through Ultra Calls' work with the Sapphire Trading team.
Even though he's primarily a day trader these days, Ultra Calls still helps other people who want to give swing trading a try. "Swing trading can be very attractive to a certain type of trader," he explains. "People should try a couple of different trading strategies when starting out, just to see which ones are the best for them, as their dynamics and requirements vary greatly."
Swing trading might not be as exciting as day trading. For some, however, that's a part of the appeal people who have a day job or otherwise can't invest the time required for day trading are drawn to swing trading's steadier tempo. Not that swing trading is a completely hands-off, set-it-and-forget-it type of activity. "Swing traders, if they want to be successful, still need to keep an eye on the market every day," explains Ultra Calls. "Still, the tempo of swing trading makes it a comfortable fit for a schedule that includes 9 to 5 work, for example."
On the other hand, swing trading is far from trivial. It's serious trading and one that's heavy with potential fees, so that's something up-and-coming traders should consider when making their decisions. "The bottom line is that swing trading is great for people who want to trade, but don't have the time to do it full time," explains Ultra Calls. "For them, swing trading can afford them the best of both worlds a chance to retain steady employment while taking risks on the stock markets."
