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Survivorship bias
In one line: Only looking at the winners that are still around, and forgetting the ones that disappeared.
If you only study companies that exist today, you skip all the ones that went bust. Your results look rosier than reality.
In trading content it is everywhere: you see the guru with the big screenshot, not the thousands who quietly quit. Chague, De-Losso and Giovannetti studied 98,378 people who day traded Brazilian stocks. Only 127 of them averaged more than R$100 a day over 300+ days. The rest don't post screenshots.
Related
Sources & studies
- Investopedia (secondary): Survivorship bias
- Chague, De-Losso & Giovannetti, É possível viver de day-trade em ações? (RBFin)
Last checked: 2026-11-04 · Educational, not financial advice.
Education only, not financial advice. No signals. Backtests are hypothetical: real trading can be worse. Past results don't predict future results.