Do you want to sell all your stocks because you cannot stand the emotional torture of the losses and the possibility of even MORE losses?
The simple truth NOW is; holding stocks now is a lower risk than what it was before the fall. As lower prices equals lower valuation.
With this I am not referring to highly leveraged or low quality businesses or both. I assume you bought high quality business with low debt levels. I can imagine with a probability of 60% maybe even 70% that the markets will be higher in three to five years than now.
I can however not guarantee it! No one can…
Sell or hold?
What is the answer then? Sell or hold?
There is no correct answer. And I am not trying to weasel out of the question.
On thing is the most important, DON’T hold any investment that causes you to lose sleep! Should this be case I recommend selling investments to the point that that you at least get a good nights rest or stop excessively worrying.
How to decide what investments to sell?
As objectively as possible (by an objective friend for example) analyse the investments at the price they are currently trading at!
This is very important.
Do not look at the price you paid for the investment! It is irrelevant to the decision of holding the investment or selling right now. Should you decide to sell – sell and move on. Realise the loss with the knowledge that better opportunities can be had in other investments.
Steps to take:
- Look at your current investments
- Identify what positions are causing you the most worry
- Evaluate the merits of these investment at the current price – ignoring the purchase price
- Ask an independent third person for his assessment of the investments – remember you are biased!
- Have the courage to sell should your and/or the independent evaluation advise it
- Start looking at new investment ideas or just enjoy the freedom of less worry
- Remember that investing is a journey not a sprint and the loss you realised today is only a small point on your investment journey
