If you’re a long-term investor, your portfolio may stay fairly stable over time.
However, you may occasionally need to sell some investments.
But when - and why?
For starters, if you have investments that consistently underperform, you might be better off selling them and using the proceeds to buy others that could help you make progress toward your goals.
And if an investment you own is quite similar to others in your portfolio, you might consider selling it and using the proceeds to broaden your investment mix.
Here’s another possible reason for selling: An investment’s value has grown so much that it now takes up a higher percentage of your portfolio than you intended.
Finally, your own needs can change.
As you near retirement, you may want to move some of your portfolio into more conservative investment vehicles.
Still, you won’t want to sell all your growth-oriented investments, as you’ll need some growth potential to help stay ahead of inflation.
The bottom line?
If you’re going to sell investments, make sure you do so for the right reasons.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor John Dickerson. Member SIPC.
