A research paper from the Brandes Institute, titled What Does It Mean To Be a Long-Term Investor? tries to provide a definitive answer to this question.
The long-term vs. short-term debate, much like investment vs. speculation, has been raging for decades. Trying to reach a concrete definition for either side is difficult because long-term investors, in particular, are not constrained by time. Indeed, one advantage of having a long-term orientation is the capacity to adopt positions where payoff timing is uncertain.

