An individual who buys and sells securities through a brokerage account. Retail investors trade smaller amounts than institutions and typically invest their own personal funds.

Common approach: Buy-and-hold, ETFs, stocks, and crypto.

A large organization that pools money to invest on behalf of others. They move significant capital and can influence markets.

Examples: Pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds.

A high-net-worth individual or entity legally permitted to invest in unregistered securities (private placements, pre-IPO rounds, certain crypto offerings).

Criteria (varies by country): Typically income above $200K (or $300K joint) or net worth above $1M excluding primary residence.

Someone who opens and closes positions within the same trading day, avoiding overnight exposure. Day traders rely on technical analysis, chart patterns, and short-term momentum.

Tools: Candlestick charts, volume indicators, Level 2 order books. Risk level: High - requires discipline and fast decision-making.

Holds positions for a few days to several weeks, aiming to capture short-to-medium term price swings. Less time-intensive than day trading but still requires regular chart monitoring.

Typical holding period: 2 days to 4 weeks.

An ultra-short-term trader who makes dozens or hundreds of trades per day, aiming to profit from tiny price movements. Scalpers may hold positions for seconds or minutes.

Requires: Low-latency execution, tight spreads, high leverage (risky).

Holds positions for months or years, ignoring short-term noise. Position traders focus on long-term trends and macroeconomic fundamentals rather than daily charts.

Typical holding period: Months to years.

Seeks undervalued assets trading below their intrinsic worth. Popularised by Warren Buffett, value investing involves deep fundamental analysis.

Key metrics: P/E ratio, book value, discounted cash flow.

Targets companies or assets expected to grow earnings (or adoption) faster than the market average. Willing to pay a premium for high-growth potential.

Common sectors: Tech, biotech, crypto, AI.

Prioritises regular cash flow over capital appreciation. Income investors look for dividends, staking rewards, yield farming, or interest-bearing instruments.

Examples: Dividend stocks, bonds, staked crypto, REITs.

Buys a broad market index (S&P 500, total crypto market cap tokens) to match market returns rather than trying to beat them. Low-cost, passive strategy.

Popularised by: John Bogle (Vanguard founder).

Goes against prevailing market sentiment - buying when others are fearful and selling when others are greedy. Requires strong conviction and patience.

Famous quote: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful." - Warren Buffett

Rides existing trends, buying assets that are already rising (or shorting falling ones) expecting the trend to continue. Momentum traders use indicators like RSI and MACD.

Risk: Trend reversals can lead to sharp losses.

Exploits price differences of the same asset across different exchanges or markets. Buys where it's cheaper and sells where it's more expensive simultaneously.

Common in crypto: Exchange arbitrage, cross-chain arbitrage, triangular arbitrage.

Uses automated trading bots and mathematical models to execute strategies. Quant traders backtest strategies on historical data before deploying capital.

Requirements: Programming skills (Python, Solidity), data science knowledge.

Provides early-stage capital to startups in exchange for equity. Angels invest their own money, typically before venture capital gets involved.

Focus: Seed rounds, pre-seed rounds, very early-stage companies.

A professional investor who manages a fund that invests in high-growth startups. VCs invest other people's money (limited partners) and typically take board seats.

Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, growth.

Invests in established (often struggling) companies, restructures them, and sells for a profit. PE firms typically buy entire companies rather than minority stakes.

Horizon: 5-10 years per investment.

A long-term crypto investor who refuses to sell regardless of market volatility. The term originated from a typo of "hold" in a 2013 Bitcoin forum post.

Philosophy: "I'm not selling until we reach the moon."

Moves crypto assets between protocols to maximise yield through lending, liquidity provision, and staking. Yield farmers chase the highest APY across DeFi platforms.

Risks: Smart contract exploits, impermanent loss, rug pulls.

Interacts with early-stage protocols hoping to receive token airdrops when the project launches. Airdrop hunters test dApps, provide liquidity, and complete on-chain tasks.

Strategy: Use multiple wallets, stay active on testnets and mainnet.

Buys, holds, and sells non-fungible tokens. Some collect for artistic value; others trade NFTs speculatively, flipping for profit based on rarity and floor prices.

Key metrics: Rarity scores, floor price, trading volume, holder count.

Speculates on community-driven tokens with no intrinsic utility. Meme coin trading is sentiment-driven and highly volatile.

Rule of thumb: Only invest what you can afford to lose completely.

| Type | Time Horizon | Risk Level | |------|-------------|------------| | Scalper | Seconds - Minutes | Very High | | Day Trader | Hours (same day) | High | | Swing Trader | Days - Weeks | Medium-High | | Momentum Trader | Days - Weeks | High | | Position Trader | Months - Years | Medium | | Value Investor | Years | Medium | | Growth Investor | Years | Medium-High | | Income Investor | Years | Low-Medium | | Index Investor | Years - Decades | Low | | HODLer | Years - Forever | Varies | | Angel / VC | 5-10+ Years | Very High |

No single type is "best" - the right approach depends on your goals, time commitment, risk tolerance, and capital.