The question about when to sell a given stock is multi-faceted. In recreational investing, the PnL is so far a minor factor, because my total committed amount is small.

Note the sunk tcost of research. Wiping out a stock 100% (too drastic?) would wipe out the learning. I would rather keep 0.1 share.

Sooner or later I would feel a pressure to sell some stocks. I wonder which j4 below would emerge as the first straw to break the camel’s back.

— j4 sell: need to free up cash ..

• wipe clean .. RSP[$300], VTI, IEMG
• reduce to smaller fraction .. DVY[$90],  ARKK, Verizon [$60] ,
• reduce to 1 share .. TAK, LFC, GE, SPHD/SPYD,

— j4 sell: I foresee a crash? Completely against my buy-n-forget principle.
— j4 sell: get rid of fractional shares, to improve liquidity
— j4 sell: reduce exposure to uncomfortable sectors ..
— j4 sell: when too many forgettable names (small positions) on my portfolio cause distraction and interfere with my navigation. Therefore sell-ALL to wipe out one name at a time.

• CARA? 90% BUY
• SWBI? still recommended BUY
• TCPC? excellent DYOC
• TXMD? 100% BUY
• Unit? 7% DYOC

— possibly overbought , considering the low CDY.

• BGC 1%
• CARA 0%
• GE[$100] 0.3%
• GM [$150] below 1%
• Ford[$30] 0.5% … keep
• HTA[$100] 4% .. keep

However, most of these names were recommended BUY and often well-known brands, bought in four figures by “other investors”. In hindsight, I should have stood back.

==== How to choose which name to sell
— criteria: Not a DYOC cash cow .. I won’t give up
— criteria: Not a (for wipe-out) household brand like Macy’s or Baba
— criteria: not a “recommended BUY”
— criteria: hopefully not in a growth sector like bio-science
— criteria: Not a prized, cherished triple-jumper (i.e. more than 200% price gain) like APHA TROX IVZ RWT OGI

• It has almost an equal chance of further appreciation as other stocks.
• I want to keep it as justification for MOETF system
• Also, the price increment provides a buffer against a down turn. The protection (does grow with the increment) is defined as the ratio of increment/currentPrice. For example a 90% protection means my position would go underwater iFF the price hits 90% loss i.e. my current return is 900%.