Money Management  |  FEB 2002

When Should You Sell That Stock? by Michael B. Patterson

When Should You Sell That Stock? by Michael B. Patterson It’s one of the toughest and loneliest decisions for an investor to make. When it comes to buying a stock, there’s no shortage of advice, both useful and otherwise. Virtually every investment magazine, newsletter, or financial news program offers tips, opinions, analysis, and a variety of hot stocks you should buy immediately. But when it comes to the sell decision, there is little useful advice to be found. Buy and hold has been the prevailing strategy for the small investor, and that has worked well in recent years — in a forgiving market. But the tenor of the stock market has changed since March 2000, when equities started heading south. A successful investor now has to pay much closer attention to stock performance and, more often than not, wrestle with that painful sell decision.

by Michael B. Patterson