For brevity, I use the term "security" when
referring to any tradable financial instrument. This includes stocks,
bonds, commodities, futures, indices, mutual funds, options, etc. While
I may imply a specific investment product (for example, I may say
"shares" which implies an equity) these investment concepts will work
with any publicly traded financial instrument in which an open market
exists.
Similarly, I intermix the terms "investing" and
"trading." Typically, an investor takes a long-term position while a
trader takes a much shorter-term position. In either case, the basic
concepts and techniques presented in this book are equally adept.
"Words are like money; there is nothing so
useless, unless when in actual use."
- Samuel Butler, 1902