Many DIY investors I know of, take inspiration from Gujarati businessmen and traders. The truth is that equity investing is a treasury operation for many of these businessmen. It is very common for them to put in funds from their business into the equity markets, and pull it out based on a target.

Rules for stock investing in Gujarat revolve around such treasury objectives: Book profits quickly; take out the money you have invested and let the balance run freely; do not sit on a loss; buy quickly when you get a tip, else it gets expensive and so on. The trading strategies of the businessman with spare cash is focused on utilising that money profitably.

It is like making some money on the side from equity markets. While the rest of the world will use money markets and liquid funds, risk-taking Gujaratis are happy to deploy short-term funds in the stock market. The crux of their approach is agility to move in and out, taking profits and losses with equanimity.

This cannot be the strategy for a long-term equity investor who likes to build wealth with equity through careful selection. Trading and investing are two completely different approaches and it is best to not mix the two up.