Even pros do little shorting anymore. Some of that is simply the result of 8 years of bull market. Hedge funds got their name decades ago by going long and short, hedging. But few hedge funds do any shorting now. The word "hedge" in Hedge Funds is mostly a relic from the 1950/60s.
Buffett/Munger don't short even tho they say it's easy to find overpriced stocks. Getting the timing right is difficult. Buffett did some shorting early on, and stopped. We've all seen this happen: "The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent."
I'm talking about actual shorting -- not puts -- where risk is open ended. Gains on shorts are always ordinary income. So shorting is tax disadvantaged. Taxes matter to me.
I've seen friends killed shorting stocks. Absent inside info, shorting is a bad idea. If pros aren't doing it, you know that IHUBers (mostly thrill addicts) shouldn't be shorting.
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Because the Good Life is Just a Pump or Two Away
