Stocks to Trade vs. Stocks to Hold By David Edwards About this article: Over the past five years, which stock do you think had the higher return: Cisco or Ford? As we know, it's been a terrible two years for telecommunications hardware, whereas we've seen record sales in automobiles for three years in a row. So Ford is the obvious winner, right? In fact, since November 1997 Ford lost 76%, while Cisco gained 55%. This comparison raises a question about holding a stock vs. trading a stock. If you operate on a buy-and-hold strategy, as I do, how do you distinguish between core holdings that will deliver good returns over a five-year time frame and those companies that you might trade -- noncore holdings that you might even sell short? Start with Industry Analysis There are about 16,000 stocks traded in U.S. markets, but only 115 industry groups (grouped among 12 sectors). One way of managing my research load is to develop... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200.

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