A trading that involves an investor (called a position trader) taking a position in the market, on expectation of, or in a bid to capitalize on, a longer-term upward or downward pricing trend. An investor can buy securities (i.e., a long position) or borrow securities (i.e., a short position) and hold that a respective position for a foreseen period of time to attain the expected long-term upward or downward trend in prices.

Position traders are usually in search of an established trend, and once identified a position is entered for the respective time horizon, and as long as the trend keeps it momentum. If a trend breaks, position traders exit the market by taking an offsetting or opposite position.

The size of a position and the ease with which it is set up largely depends on market conditions such as volatility, mass market timing, etc.