Buy and hold is easy to say, but hard to do.

by | Sep 15, 2018 | Dear old dad | 0 comments

Think long-term, buy-and-hold, is the prescription of many investment books and textbooks, what I do with portions of my personal portfolio, but it is not easy when sitting on outsize multi-year unrealized profits. As an example, supposed you purchased something a couple of years ago at 100 and It now trades at 900. It is very tempting to book profits. Some advocate a partial sale to take away the pressure. Suppose you do, and then it crosses 1000. You watch it go up, somewhat annoyed at yourself. This is a behavioural bias known as “anchoring” where that selling price of 900 gnaws at you and prevents action (inertia is another such bias). Others advocate buying it back, but it is still easier said than done. Do your homework on the stock, okay you sold it for 900, but what if news about the company’s prospects justify the later increases in the price?