Online trading: Know when to sell your shares

Lincoln Indicators
Written by

Lincoln Indicators

May 12th, 2016
Related topics

Five common reasons investors hold when they should sell their shares

It’s easy to start online trading. Simply open an account with a broker and buy some shares. But, investors find that selling a stock is one of the hardest things to do, whether it’s selling to crystalise a profit or a loss.

This may sound illogical to many but this phenomenon provides an interesting insight to investor psychology. Selling at a loss is like admitting you’ve made a mistake, and no one likes to be in that position. Collecting a profit can also be hard as investors wonder if they will miss out on further gains in the future.

For these reasons, selling certainly feels much harder than buying a stock, and this means investors are predisposed to holding on to a stock for all the wrong reasons. In our experience, there are five bad reasons investors use as an excuse not to exit a position. You need to be aware of them to avoid this dangerous pitfall.

1. Holding an inappropriate stock

It’s easy to get bombarded with ‘buy”’ or ‘sell’ recommendations from TV, newspapers or email. Before you get started with any online trading, ask yourself if the investment meets your objectives and strategy.

Often, the legacy of a poor performer in the portfolio is not because you didn’t sell it but rather you should never have bought it in the first place.

2. Holding on for too long

Another common mistake many investors make is once they’ve acquired a stock, is that they fail to monitor the performance of the company to ensure it continues to meet original expectations.

‘Stock neglect’ is common in the world of online trading, but it can be disastrous for your portfolio. You need to get into the practice of monitoring your stocks regularly – ideally once a week.

You should also ensure that when the fundamentals of a stock change for the worse, or if it no longer meets your investment objective, you need to act quickly to sell it. There may be a few dogs that recover but, in most cases, you will be glad you closed that position.

3. Tax reasons

Don’t get too bogged down in the nitty gritty when it comes to generating a tax event. Many investors make the mistake of focusing too much on this, and often question if they are sitting on a large capital gain or whether they’ve held the stock for a full 12 months.

Not selling when you know you should, will end up costing you. Acting at the appropriate time, irrespective of the tax consequences, is essential to building a successful portfolio.

Instead of focusing on taxes when online trading, you should look to employ a good accountant and/or financial planner who can set up the appropriate tax structure for you. This will give you greater peace of mind and be one less issue for you to worry about.

4. “It’ll come back” mentality

Some investors go through what we term as ‘rear view investing’ which can bite you twice on the posterior.

Just because a stock may have previously traded at a higher price, the failure to exit at its previous peak can stop many investors from getting out altogether.

There are no guarantees that a stock will return to its former glory days, and failing to let go of it when it’s underperforming due to a weak outlook and poor fundamentals will often cost you more in terms of a capital loss.

Novice online traders often overlook the fundamental drivers of the price decline. Always remember that there is usually a justifiable reason as to why the stock has fallen 80%, and therefore while it had once traded higher, its current predicament means it’s unlikely to regain its losses anytime soon. What’s worse, an underperforming asset will tie up your cash and this means you won’t have the opportunity to invest in a better business. This is known as the ‘opportunity cost.’

Online trading platforms often have alerts that you can set up to help you monitor price trends.

5. The shame of being wrong

Lastly, many investors decide to hold on to a stock because of pride. They simply find it hard to accept that they’ve made the wrong decision regarding a stock’s prospects or its appropriateness.

Investing is an emotional endeavour but investing on emotions can be detrimental to the health of your portfolio. To be a successful investor, you need to remove emotions from the process so you can make rational and logical decisions in the best interests of your portfolio over the long-term.

There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes. The crime is not having the courage to correct it.

Lincoln Indicators
Written by

Lincoln Indicators

May 12th, 2016
Related topics
Information in this communication is current as of publication unless otherwise stated. It is provided for educational purposes only and may not reflect current market data or opinion. It should not be relied upon in respect to any current investment decision. Investments can go up and down. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Important: This communication is provided by or on behalf of Lincoln Indicators Pty Limited ABN 23 006 715 573 (Lincoln), as Corporate Authorised Representative of Lincoln Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN 70 609 751 966, AFSL 483167 for information and educational purposes only. This content may contain general financial product advice. It has been prepared without taking account of your personal circumstances and you should therefore consider its appropriateness in light of your objectives, financial situation and needs, before acting on it. Investments can go up and down. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Shares and other investments may go up and down in value, and their past performance may not be repeated and gives no guarantee of future performance. Information in this communication was current as at the date of its preparation, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to change.

You should read and consider our Important Information and our Financial Services Guide (FSG) which sets out key information about the services we provide. Where our advice relates to the acquisition or possible acquisition of a particular financial product, you should obtain a copy of and consider the Lincoln Australian Income Fund Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Lincoln Australian Growth Fund Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Lincoln U.S. Growth Fund Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the product at www.lincolnindicators.com.au before making any decision.

At the date of preparation of this communication, Lincoln, Lincoln Financial Group Pty Ltd or directors, employees and/or associates of these entities "may hold" interests in these ASX-listed companies. Further information about particular stocks held by these entities or persons from time to time is disclosed within the Stock Doctor program and may change at any time without notice.

Lincoln, Lincoln Financial Group Pty Ltd, any directors, employees and agents of these entities, make no representation and give no warranty as to the accuracy of this communication and do not accept any responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in, or omissions from, this communication (whether negligent or otherwise) and are not liable for any loss or damage howsoever arising as a result of any person acting, or refraining from acting, in reliance on any information in this communication. No person should rely on this communication as it does not purport to be comprehensive. This disclaimer does not purport to exclude any rights under, or warranties implied by, law which may not be lawfully excluded.

Lincoln has taken precautions to minimise the risk of transmitting software viruses, but we advise you to carry out your own virus checks on any downloadable content. We do not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses.

Copyright © 2024 Lincoln Indicators Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.

All financial services are provided by Lincoln Indicators Pty Ltd ABN 23 006 715 573 (Lincoln) as the Corporate Authorised Representative of Lincoln Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN 70 609 751 966, AFSL 483167.

  • Show Popular Searches
  • Lincoln Indicators
  • Managed Funds
  • Investment Funds
  • Mutual Funds
  • Growth Funds
  • High Return Investments
  • Long Term Investments
  • Shares to Invest in Australia
  • Stock Portfolio Manager Software
  • Highest Dividend Stocks ASX
  • Highest Dividend Shares
  • Growth Stocks
  • ASX Stocks to Buy
  • Stock Research Reports
  • ASX Research Reports
  • Equity Funds
  • Hide Popular Searches