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Topic 4.6: When to Sell a Value Stock
Master the most difficult decision in value investing: when to sell a stock. This guide provides a rational framework to overcome emotional biases, avoid common pitfalls, and protect your long-term wealth.
Milan Reichl
June 20th, 2025 • Reading Time: 13 minutes
When to Sell a Value Stock
Welcome to the final hurdle. You have journeyed with us through the treacherous landscape of investment risk. You've learned to see what others miss: the subtle cracks in a business model, the hidden dangers in the financials, and the siren song of the value trap. You have armed yourself with the tools of analysis and a framework for making intelligent decisions.
But now, we arrive at the final boss battle. The one decision that separates the legends from the merely competent. The one question that even the most experienced investors struggle with every single day: When do you sell?
Think about it. We pour endless hours into finding the perfect company, analyzing it, and deciding when to buy. But all that work, all that brilliance, can be utterly destroyed by a single, poorly-timed selling decision. Selling too early can mean leaving life-changing gains on the table. Selling too late can mean watching your hard-earned capital evaporate. This single decision is more fraught with emotion, more clouded by bias, and has a more devastating impact on your long-term wealth than almost any other.
The truth is, most investors get it wrong. They let fear, greed, and ego dictate their exit strategy. But it doesn't have to be that way. There is a rational framework, a disciplined approach that can guide you through this emotional minefield. It's the last, and most important, piece of the puzzle.
Are you ready to master it?