Not sure about gambling. For example, gambling is an outright...

Not sure about gambling. For example, gambling is an outright win/loss bet whereas one can control one's loss with appropriate position sizing and stop loss strategy.

I do think that making a living out of trading based on chart alone is tricky, for the lack of a better word. I certainly wouldn't/ couldn't do it but there are many people who have successfully made a good living out of it.

Also, it is a misperception that traders are only those who are chartists. Investors can trade too, but based on macro factors and company fundamentals. Take Bill Ackman for example. Pershing Square's investment philosophy is to buy great companies at a good price (rather than buy average company at a great price) and hold them for decades (similar to Berkshire). That didn't stop him from making what is arguably the trade of the century just before Covid when he shorted corporate bonds via CDS and made 2.6bn in a month. His outlay for the bet was 27mn per month, but because his bet only lasted a month, he essentially made 100x return on his outlay in a month.

The intention of this trade was a hedge for his multi-billion portfolio as he foresaw the disruption that would be caused by Covid. But it's still a trade.

In 2022, when the 3yr and 10yr bonds were trading in the high 3s/low 4s, he shorted the bonds betting that the Feds will need to keep raising to fight persisting high inflation. That trade netted him 2.7bn on a 400mn outlay as bond prices crashed (yield surged).

As I said, the distinction between an investor and a trader is a grey one

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