Several years ago, we invested in individual stocks with a growth investment strategy. After lots of research, we decided index funds were a better choice for us. I am not a risky investor. We don't feel that we need to sell all of teh individuial stocks, but i want to sell overtime any that don't fit our focus. I have been reading up on evaluating stocks, but the difference between yield and stock dividends and growth are not clear to me. Any suggestions on reading materials or your strategy? I sold Walmart last week. I have also sold Centurylink and Southern Companies. I really want to sell Pitney BOwes as it is ugly, but cant make myself pull the trigger.
How to decide which stocks to sell?
- Thread starter ecowtent
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2010
- Messages
- 10,735
You don't say what your capital gains situation is, so I won't address that, but that could be a big factor.
Let's just say that the group stocks you hold today is just a "chunky mix of the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index". If that happened to be the case, and you want to get out, do it all in one day! Sell everything and buy VUG with the proceeds. You'd be insulating yourself from the LC growth market going up or down while you were out of those equities. Or if you're done with growth and want broader market, buy VTI.
Let's just say that the group stocks you hold today is just a "chunky mix of the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index". If that happened to be the case, and you want to get out, do it all in one day! Sell everything and buy VUG with the proceeds. You'd be insulating yourself from the LC growth market going up or down while you were out of those equities. Or if you're done with growth and want broader market, buy VTI.
Actually, I have been selling with limiting our taxes as a top priority. We are in the top bracket this year and last year. The ones sold were very close to a zero gain.
One of ours that I question- Johnson and Johnson -dividend every year, but yield below 3. How would you evaluate the stock to see if it is worth keeping?
One of ours that I question- Johnson and Johnson -dividend every year, but yield below 3. How would you evaluate the stock to see if it is worth keeping?
NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 35,712
Some have said selling is harder than buying.
I do have a bit of JNJ. The dividend yield of JNJ is 2.69%, which is still better than the overall S&P dividend of 1.79%. Stocks like JNJ tend to track the overall market so I just let them be. Many of my individual stocks kind of make up my own index as I am fairly diversified. So, I do not pay too much attention unless they deviate too far from the index in either direction. I would not sell, just to pay taxes.
I do have a bit of JNJ. The dividend yield of JNJ is 2.69%, which is still better than the overall S&P dividend of 1.79%. Stocks like JNJ tend to track the overall market so I just let them be. Many of my individual stocks kind of make up my own index as I am fairly diversified. So, I do not pay too much attention unless they deviate too far from the index in either direction. I would not sell, just to pay taxes.
Last edited:
DrRoy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I had to do the same thing a few years ago when I fired a FA. I was only willing to spend so much on the cap gains taxes every year, so I every year I sold the stock with the smallest gains up to the tax cap. It took 3 years to unload it all.
Similar threads
