Definition of "Contrarian"

Investor who do the opposite of what most other investors are doing. In other words, if most investors are buying, the contrarian will sell and vice versa. The contrarian believes that when the market is going up, most people are already or nearly fully invested and have no additional funds to make more purchases. Thus, if the market has not already reached its peak, it will do so in the near future. Conversely, when other investors believe the market will or is declining, they have already sold their investments. Thus, there are little or no sellers left and the market can only go up.