dines buy zone, page-16

I've discussed this trader/investor issue with three different accountants. 2 of them said that I might get away with 2 separate accounts - one as an investment account and the other as a trading account - the third accountant wasn't so sure and thought that if I did a lot of short term trading then the tax dept might classify me as a trader and dis-allow any capital gains discount on any of my investments. Just to be sure I keep nearly everything for more than a year (though it is ok to sell at a loss short term if that seems necessary).
Another interesting point is - if you make a capital loss, you get to write off the whole thing (they don't make you only write off 50% of the loss to balance things out).