🥳 When should you sell stocks?
The October sell-off in the tech sector pushed many people toward the “sell” button. Before pressing it, experts at Fidelity and Charles Schwab recommend honestly answering three questions:
▪️Has the business changed, or just the price? According to Schwab strategist Alex Coffey, volatility creates urgency around the price, not the decision. If the company is still growing and earning money, a drop along with the sector is no reason to run. That was the case with cybersecurity: at the start of the year, those stocks were dumped along with software amid fears about AI, but later they rose significantly.
▪️Would you buy this stock today if you had cash instead? A positive answer means one bad week doesn’t change anything. A negative answer is a reason to think it over—and the price has nothing to do with it. This helps break the habit of holding on to a stock just because you already own it.
▪️Is one position taking up too much of your portfolio? When it exceeds 10% of the portfolio, Shahin recommends moving some of it into broad funds.
This is a simple, ready-to-use checklist you can run through for your own positions.
The October sell-off in the tech sector pushed many people toward the “sell” button. Before pressing it, experts at Fidelity and Charles Schwab recommend honestly answering three questions:
▪️Has the business changed, or just the price? According to Schwab strategist Alex Coffey, volatility creates urgency around the price, not the decision. If the company is still growing and earning money, a drop along with the sector is no reason to run. That was the case with cybersecurity: at the start of the year, those stocks were dumped along with software amid fears about AI, but later they rose significantly.
▪️Would you buy this stock today if you had cash instead? A positive answer means one bad week doesn’t change anything. A negative answer is a reason to think it over—and the price has nothing to do with it. This helps break the habit of holding on to a stock just because you already own it.
▪️Is one position taking up too much of your portfolio? When it exceeds 10% of the portfolio, Shahin recommends moving some of it into broad funds.
This is a simple, ready-to-use checklist you can run through for your own positions.
