What Is Long Position?
Going long means buying an asset with the expectation that its price will appreciate. You profit when price goes up, lose when price goes down.
This is the default trading direction for most retail investors. Buy SPY, hold, sell higher = a long position on the S&P 500. The maximum loss is limited to your initial investment (the asset can go to zero but not below); the upside is theoretically unlimited.
Long positions can be taken with leverage (margin, futures, options) to amplify exposure. But leveraged longs introduce liquidation risk — if price drops enough, your position is forcibly closed at a loss before you can recover.
The opposite of long is short, where you profit when price falls. Long positions are mechanically simpler and align with the long-term tendency of equities to rise, which is part of why most retail traders gravitate toward them.
Related terms
- Short Selling — Selling an asset you don't own, betting on its price falling, then buying back later.
- Leverage — Borrowed capital used to increase trade size beyond what cash alone allows.
- Margin — Borrowed money used to amplify trading positions beyond cash balance.