A trader is someone who buys and sells shares (or other instruments, like Futures and Options) over a relatively short time frame — anywhere from a few minutes to a few months — aiming to profit from price movements rather than long-term business growth.
What Traders Focus On
- Price charts, patterns, and technical indicators
- Short-term market sentiment and news
- Risk management on individual trades (position sizing, stop-losses)
- Discipline and psychology, since trading involves frequent decision-making
Trader vs Investor
Both participate in the same underlying market. See the full comparison table in What Is the Stock Market? A Complete Beginner’s Guide. This course, especially from Module 3 onward, is built primarily around the trading side of the market — Futures & Options.