When Should I Sell?

People are always asking me when should I sell my stock or mutual funds?

There are some relatively easy answers to this. In fact, so simple that you won't believe them, but they are things I have learned over the past 30 years as a professional trader on the floor of the commodity exchange in Chicago. These ideas apply equally well to stocks and mutual funds and to just about any kind of investment.

First let's examine what the Wall Street mavens tell you about mutual funds. Ever heard this one? Buy a good fund and stick with it even when it is going down. WRONG! Go with a good fund manager and follow him from fund to fund. WRONG! Don't buy the current "hot" fund, as it will go down when this fad is over and you will lose your money. WRONG!

Let's look at the one basic reason all these ideas are promoted. The mutual fund industry which is the biggest owner of individual stocks in the world doesn't want you to take your money out of their particular fund so they all band together to promote the above ideas even when you are losing money. Fund managers are not paid for performance. They are paid by the amount of your money the fund keeps.

Do you want to stick with anything that is going down in value week after week? The great cry of stockbrokers is, "The market always comes back". But when? In your lifetime?

I don't know of any individual fund manager that has made money for the investors every single year. They all run hot and cold, even the best of them. You can put the best jockey on a slow horse and he is not going to win the race.

The Wall Street gurus talk about "hot money" flowing from one fund to another and want you to feel guilty just because you want to make more profit. Hey, what is your money in there for - cold pizza?

There is one basic rule that will keep you outperforming the pack. If your mutual fund is not currently (meaning in the past 12 months) outperforming the S&P500 Index you should sell it immediately and buy a different no-load fund. Don't buy any fund that charges commission. You can buy directly from the fund itself (phone numbers listed in IBD very day) or through a discount broker such as Waterhouse, Datek, E-Trade and many others. The maximum commission charge should not be more than $25 no matter the size of the buy or sell with no restrictions on how long you must hold it.

Where do you find the best performing funds? Each day Investor's Business Daily publishes a list of these funds. Look for the day they publish the top performers for the past 12 months.

Don't pay any attention to the longer-term statistics. Each week you should look to see if your fund is still listed in the top 25. If it isn't, sell it and buy the one at the top. Simple. Forget the 3-year, 5-year and 10-year records. My philosophy is 'What have you done for me lately?'.

As far as selling stock this is what I do. I keep at 10% trailing stop which I change every Monday morning with my discount broker. The open stop is 10% of the previous Friday's close. This may or may not be the top of the move but I don't care. I'm either stopped out with a small loss or a profit, but my money is always protected. When I have doubled my money I will sell half my position and let the rest ride with the following stop. Protection of your capital is the most important thing you can do.

Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.

1-888-345-7870; http://www.mutualfundmagic.com

interior house cleaning Lincolnshire ...

In The News:

A fake Claude AI download scam uses Google ads and Bing redirects to trick Mac users into pasting a hidden malicious command in their Terminal.

Ahold Delhaize's cybersecurity incident knocked online ordering and digital coupons offline at Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant Food stores.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Amazon's About You feature includes personality details from your shopping history, and some shoppers are finding hilariously awkward results.

Identity theft recovery starts with securing bank accounts, freezing credit and enabling two-factor authentication within the first 24 hours.

Apple's $299 HomeView smart display uses facial recognition to personalize screens for up to six household members and show live security camera feeds.

Domonique DuBose spotted red flags when a man on Hinge with 85,000 followers and a blue checkmark claimed to be a San Francisco 49ers player.

Your phone's location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies and places of worship. The FTC took action against data brokers selling this data.

Hackers targeted Danfoss refrigerator controls across French supermarkets, forcing chains like Carrefour and Monoprix to discard massive food stocks.

iOS 27 finally lets iPhone Shared Albums store photos and videos at full resolution in iCloud, but new items count toward the owner's storage.

A fake Facebook Marketplace text scam uses your real name as the seller to trick you into replying, and Malwarebytes warns even one response helps.

The Pentagon data breach exposed 2.76 million Social Security numbers and military records, raising long-term identity theft concerns for veterans.

Kodiak AI plans to haul IKEA freight on Texas highways with no one in the cab, raising urgent cybersecurity and safety questions for drivers.

Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 adds Extend and Reframe tools to Photos, letting iPhones generate new background areas beyond your original borders.

Microsoft's X account was hijacked to promote a crypto pump-and-dump scheme, exposing its more than 13 million followers to a scam campaign.

Scammers can combine your name, phone number and address with data breach details to attempt SIM swaps, phishing and even identity theft schemes.

ChatGPT Work, Meta Muse and Gemini Spark can monitor flight prices, sort your email inbox and track important deadlines, but savvy users start small.

iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel each hide a built-in tool that turns a video frame into a separate photo without any screenshot needed.

Operation KillSwitch dismantled KillSec's ransomware infrastructure, but investigators say a 16-year-old allegedly ran the entire cybercrime operation.

The Fox News Artificial Intelligence newsletter covers where voters will decide on AI data center ballot measures and Jeff Bezos' tech vision.

Apple's Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27 can flag suspicious activity inside apps, but the setting is off by default and must be enabled.

Federal Election Commission records can expose your name, address, employer and donation history once contributions exceed the $200 threshold.

Cybersecurity expert Morgan Wright says human skepticism remains the strongest defense against AI-driven phishing scams and voice cloning fraud schemes.

iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy each handle security updates differently, and one screen saying "up to date" may not tell the whole story.

Deborah Del Mastro heard what sounded like her daughter's terrified voice on the phone, launching a five-hour virtual kidnapping scam ordeal.

When Should I Sell?

Stocks & Mutual Fund