Don’t be afraid to bail out, even if you’re in the red on these picks
The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall
While every investor knows it’s important to make the right buys, making the right sells is equally important when it comes to protecting your nest egg. In fact, it may even be moreimportant since the climb up is always bigger than the ride down. Let’s say you lose 20% of a $5,000 investment. Now you’re at $4,000 — meaning you’ll have to earn 25% to get back to square. Even worse is if you lose 50% to $2,500. Now you’ll have to “double” your money just to break even.
Conventional wisdom holds that it’s better to stick with a stock that has been beaten down and wait for it to bounce back. But sometimes it’s just not worth the wait. If your investment only rebounds a few percentage points while the rest of the market moves significantly higher, recording a loss on that position and moving on was the right move for your overall portfolio.
To help you pull the trigger and move on to greener pastures, here are seven big name stocks I recommend selling immediately. Of course, each investor has his or her own strategy – and a one-size fits all approach doesn’t always apply. For instance, income investors may not be too concerned that Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has underperformed if they find value in the 2.7% yield. And of course, swing traders should pay much closer attention to immediate headlines and market trends. Some of these picks may have a few good weeks ahead of them in the short-term though I am bearish on all across the next several months.
That said, for medium-term to long-term investors – folks who trade a few stocks a month and strive for long-term capital gains when possible – you would be wise to take a serious look at these seven holdings and consider selling now.
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