Before You Buy More Stocks, GET YOUR AFFAIRS IN ORDER

When I used to review client portfolios, I was always astounded by the shit in them. They were hoarding stocks like collectibles, buying trends, or anything that appealed to them at the moment. The net result was a portfolio that wasn’t built for success, a heap of shit that needed to be unwound. Most client portfolios that I review were like dirty garages.

Is your portfolio a shitty garage filled with junk?

How about this. Instead of buying XYZ today because “it looks good”, GET YOUR AFFAIRS IN ORDER and cull some of those losers. Or better yet, sell the stocks that you bought for a catalyst that never panned out. You might’ve bought XYZ because of a pending earnings call or maybe a news event that never quite gave you the explosion to the upside that you endeavored to enjoy. The only reason why you’re still in the stock is because you’re too god damned immature to realize you’re holding onto your ego, which is working counter to your financial goals.

Go ahead and read that paragraph over. Matter of fact, print it out and keep it handy.

I, myself, find my positions in my trading account to be both redundant and spread thin. At the same time, I am tempted, on a continuous basis, to buy more stock — the never-ending sojourn into the wilderness of finance in search of freedom.

My mindset has now switched from hunter to farmer, and I will now begin a campaign to manage my current positions in an effort to increase my control over a portfolio that has swelled in both dollar amount and quantity of holdings. I want to reduce my positions to about 10, raising a significant amount of cash in the process. I feel like trading small, not due to cowardice or lack of gumption, but because the market feels heavy and risk assets aren’t exactly off to the races, in spite of all time highs.