Fred Andrews: Yes, you may see me in a number of areas because I like to keep a diversified portfolio. And to my mind, the received wisdom that 10-15 or 20 stocks (or whatever number from whatever study one cites) in diversified industries and areas is enough... well it is not enough to both reduce risk and improve likelihood of profits (imo)
If you were one of the people who first mentioned here the idea of selling just a portion, or withholding some back from a total sell, then thank you. (I do recall Burgis B. in such a discussion.) That has proved to be very significant advice and most helpful to me. And I'm still working on improving my sell decisions. Stocks that I've posted on here before and that I sold profitably but have moved up without me :>( include FIC, MIKE, ILFO, plus more. (Not to mention the ones I sold unprofitably that then moved up.)
Sometimes I've taken profits as a stock has moved up and so there's not much left (to hold back) when I make a final sell. Sometimes I just want the cash for other investments; sometimes I just scare myself out of a stock. Sometimes, I'm inflexible or unable to recognize when a value stock becomes a "growth play". (VVTV bought about 3, sold at 6 if I recall, now at 42 down from high of 62 comes to mind. Here's a case where, had I been attuned to your advice and sold a small amount initially instead of the entire position, the absolute dollar gains from a small position might have been noticeable and noteworthy to the portfolio's performance. I guess most of us have stories to tell like that.)
And so about the very dumb saw, "you can't go broke taking a profit" that I often hear. Bushwa, I say. I've learned you can (sometimes)lose a fortune selling too soon for too little.
Selling -- always a tough decision. Paul. |
