If there is a silver lining in the disaster that has been investing in the markets in 2008, it's that increases in volatility made it possible to generate huge returns moving in and out of stocks in a very short period of time.
Day trading had all but disappeared after the dot-com crash. And while the strategy is making a comeback in a major way this year, investors have yet to catch on.
Think about it for a moment. What businesses were at the forefront of this investment strategy?
Discount online brokers, led by E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC), were some of the biggest winners during the boom in day trading.
With everyone and their mother trading stock tips in the 1990s, brokers made increases in customer accounts and trading commissions that led to big profits.
Now, with fertile ground for day trading back in play, are the discount brokers worth owning in this environment?
Well, one would think that now would be an excellent time to be owning the discount broker stocks, but that hasn't borne itself out as of yet. What gives?