Monday, January 21, 2013

the sell decision

The decision to sell liquid investments such as stocks and bonds is much harder than the buy decision. The reason for this is simple: human emotion. When an investor is considering purchasing a new position they aren’t psychologically wedded to the idea. Therefore, they can be open regarding the relative strengths and weaknesses of the investment.

However, when an active investor expresses a position in a security, they undoubtedly have a reason. Upon purchase, the investor is now committed to the idea. If the investment increases in value, either the investor was correct in their thesis or the investor was just lucky. Either way, the investor feels good that the investment increased and is hopeful for additional gains.

Having a specific selling strategy is paramount for success. Some value investors have price targets based on analysis, some sell only when they find better ex-ante values in other securities. The below quotes are curated to represent the selling methodologies of exceptional investors.

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