Maximum Holding Period for a Trader to Call Themselves a Trader

So I have spoken to a number of people that generally refer to themselves as "traders." I usually interpret this to mean that they typically hold their positions for about a day, both in the case of directional and market making strategies. This being said, I know a PM that described himself as a trader but held his positions for weeks.

Generally, what is the expectation for the type of holding period that would distinguish a trader from an investor (or something else)?

Thanks for your thoughts.

3 Comments
 

I heard an ex hedge fund trader say that anything up to 3 months used to be short enough to be a classified as a trade but in the post 08 markets apparently 3 days to 6 weeks are trades due to an increased volotility. I guess there isn't an exact answer though.

Edit: sorry, I meant to reply to the general convo

 
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