what does buy and hold mean 
buy and hold is an investment strategy this is a long term passive strategy where an investor buys assets and holds onto them even when the market shows signs of short term fluctuations this is contrasted with active investing which involves constantly shifting holdings by regularly buying and selling financial instruments the bottom lineevery asset you buy and keep in your portfolio contributes to your holdings these include any stocks bonds etfs mutual funds and even cash if you want to minimize your risk market currency economic etc it s important to diversify your holdings this means not only investing in and holding different asset classes but also spreading your holdings across different sectors and industries speak to a financial professional if you re unsure about how to make your holdings work for you 