When to sell investments

Beddie

Sell today, so you are not at the whim of market movements from now until you need the money. It can earn interest in savings until then.

Or... wait until January. Your choice, if you are willing to accept the risk of maybe getting more, or less.

You could even sell some now and some then, a proper fence-sitting option!

jimjames

Only caveat to the above very valid points is that selling between Christmas and New Year probably isn't a good idea. Volumes are low which means price moves could be exaggerated one way or other

LHW99

Hoenir said:

LHW99 said:

If the amount you get is important, you can put a "Stop loss" on, so they would be sold if the price dropped. 

The amount the shares actually sell for could be well beneath the stop loss limit. Stop Loss doesn't guarantee a fixed price. Every trade requires two parties. 

Hence my second point:

But be aware that if the market drop is very swift, then the actual deal may come through below that amount, as the price changes between the trigger and the execution.

leosayer

What type of investments are we talking about? 

Some asset types are more volatile than others.

danco

jimjames said:

Only caveat to the above very valid points is that selling between Christmas and New Year probably isn't a good idea. Volumes are low which means price moves could be exaggerated one way or other

That was the kind of reply I was hoping for. It makes sense to me.

dannybbb

dunstonh said:

I'm wondering if there are generally accepted views on when to sell. Obviously the market can move up or down, and I'm not asking for advice on that.

About 3-5 years before you need the money.     If you need the money in 3-5 months and don't own a TARDIS then sell now.    Markets are near recent peaks.  It really boils down to your risk level and the importance of what you are using the money for.   i.e. could you afford a 40% loss?

@dunstonh 'markets are near peaks' and recent declines in my HCBC global fund - with the US election on the horizon i have concerns about the 16k cash I have sitting in my sipp ready to invest- people say just put in cash regularly but when funding your sipp how much  do people generally look at whats going on with the fund?

InvesterJones

dannybbb said:

dunstonh said:

I'm wondering if there are generally accepted views on when to sell. Obviously the market can move up or down, and I'm not asking for advice on that.

About 3-5 years before you need the money.     If you need the money in 3-5 months and don't own a TARDIS then sell now.    Markets are near recent peaks.  It really boils down to your risk level and the importance of what you are using the money for.   i.e. could you afford a 40% loss?

@dunstonh 'markets are near peaks' and recent declines in my HCBC global fund - with the US election on the horizon i have concerns about the 16k cash I have sitting in my sipp ready to invest- people say just put in cash regularly but when funding your sipp how much  do people generally look at whats going on with the fund?

This topic is about when to sell, but you're asking 'when to buy' - this is covered in many other threads, but a reminder investments should be for a long timescale and if you're concerned about recent declines in a well diversified fund then you're looking too closely - zoom out a bit (i.e. take the longer term view). Lump sum vs drip feed has also been discussed many time. In a generally rising market lump sum generally works out best, but if drip feeding or hedging gives you peace of mind or is more likely to prevent emotional decisions then it's worth doing.