It has been some months that I have been in this forum, I have started making arrangements for transacting with Bitcoin in the aspect of buying and storing. I don't have much knowledge of wallet to the extent of knowing a preferable wallet to use for storing my Bitcoin, right now I know that Bitcoin is a valuable asset from my understanding but other people doesn't accept the fact that it is really an asset, so I want to know a good wallet to use for my Bitcoin because I notice that some wallet my friends recommend to me are all exchange kind of wallet and I was told that it's not proper to use an exchange wallet for storing or saving of Bitcoin for a long time. I wish to have more recommendation or articles to read concerning wallets and it's security values but during my research I was recommended to use electrum wallet but I was confused if electrum wallet is an exchange or a custodial wallet, therefore i need a good direction, clarification and update of suitable wallet from senior colleagues.
You're right here. Avoid using an exchange as a wallet for holding your coins for long term. Not even for short term. Just do your stuffs on the exchange and once you are done, leave with your coins. You don't have access to your keys, so you don't really own your coins when you use an exchange. When the exchange goes down, so does your coins with them.
Like others suggested, Electrum is actually a very good choice for beginners. Only you have access to your private keys and no one else. So you are the owner of your coins. You can create backup of your keys and you can restore it anytime you wish. Or you could try hardware wallets. They are less vulnerable to hacks since your keys are stored offline. Whichever wallet you chose, make sure you keep them safe and make multiple backups.