Do you 'top slice'?

LHW99

Would you buy the shares now at the current price?

If so, then probably hold

Strummer22

Update: shares rose 10% this morning on the very upbeat interim financials. I just sold half and I'm very happy to let the rest of my holding run further, if things continue in the same vein. I'm a happy investor :beer:

Ray_Singh-Blue

I like that rule of thumb: if in doubt about doing something, do half of it!

That way you are a little bit happy whichever way things pan out.

Bazofts_Revenge

I have sold a few that have overperformed but sold enough so that I have got my original investment value back. The monies left invested then have cost you nothing bar lost interest and trading charges. In a similar quandry now with Provident Finance and Dominos. Sold Greggs after their fly on the wall documentary didn't impress me and the shares rose by 200% much to my dismay. so you are damned if you do and damned if you don;t.

grey_gym_sock

Bazofts_Revenge wrote: »

I have sold a few that have overperformed but sold enough so that I have got my original investment value back. The monies left invested then have cost you nothing bar lost interest and trading charges.

that's false mental accounting

by that logic, when you sell enough shares to get back more than your original investment, then the remaining shares have a negative cost: i.e. you're being paid to take them off somebody's hands - which makes no sense, for shares in a limited-liability company.

it's more logical to apportion the costs in proportion to the number of shares. i.e. if you've sold half the original shares, regard the remaining holding as having half the original cost.

but strictly speaking, it doesn't matter - except for tax purposes - what you paid for some shares. the only issue is: are you better off keeping the X shares you now hold, or taking the £Y you could sell them for and doing something else with the cash?

i think the main good reason to top slice is to limit your risk. if a holding grows too big, you can be over-exposed to losses if the company does badly (or even: does well, but not as well as the market was hoping).

it can also be sensible - in a taxable account - to take gains within each year's capital gains tax allowance, and use the proceeds to feed ISAs and pensions.

Kendall80

Ray_Singh-Blue wrote: »

I like that rule of thumb: if in doubt about doing something, do half of it!

That way you are a little bit happy whichever way things pan out.

Or a little bit annoyed.

Ray_Singh-Blue

Kendall80 wrote: »

Or

And .

redmalc

I have took the profit and banked it

atush

I dont always do this, but I do do it- esp with cyclicals and commodities like gold etc.

badger09

Ray_Singh-Blue wrote: »

I like that rule of thumb: if in doubt about doing something, do half of it!

That way you are a little bit happy whichever way things pan out.

Kendall80 wrote: »

Or a little bit annoyed.

Ray_Singh-Blue wrote: »

And .

But at least you can still stand up while kicking yourself:rotfl: