When to Sell: Your Goals Change or You Just Can't Take It Anymore
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When to Sell: Your Goals Change or You Just Can't Take It Anymore
You don’t invest to win some imaginary race, but to meet your financial goals. As your goals change, your funds may need to change as well.
Things To Know
- The moral: know your funds, know yourself.
Suppose you start investing in a balanced fund with the goal of buying a house within the next five years. If you get married and your spouse already owns a house, you may decide to use that money for retirement instead. In that case, you might ditch the balanced fund for a pure stock fund. Your goal and the time until you draw on your investment have changed.
You just can’t take it anymore
The point of investing is meeting financial goals, not developing ulcers. If your fund is so volatile that not even the vision of your brand-new house calms you down, then by all means sell—as long as you’d never buy the fund or a fund like it again.
The moral: know your funds, know yourself, and never make the same mistake twice.
