Yeah, I think your premise is wrong. You say "pros do little shorting", but I disagree. SOME PROS do little shorting. I do NO shorting....but at times I know I should. Stocks get overvalued. I would have loved to have shorted Snapchat as I KNOW that was overvalued from the start.
There are many reasons Buffett is successful. These days he's privvy to information you and I are not, he's a mutual fund without mutual fund restrictions AND when word gets out he bought, people jump on board.
As for taxes, I've never ever understood that. I paid a ton in taxes in 2016. I had a very nice year. I'm OK paying taxes on gains. It's like the people who won't buy sin stocks and only want tax efficient funds. Why would I add even more restrictions to my research?
My main goal is to make money, not thwart the government.
Just my opinion, of course.
