When I buy a stock, I buy it because I firmly believe it will go up in value. I am always surprised when a purchase falls in value but this is not uncommon. It is impossible to time the market and buy at the ultimate low stock price.
Averaging down: That said, a good idea is to add to one's holdings when a stock you have complete faith in tumbles after being purchased. For instance, I bought some TD bank in the high $80s. It then fell to the low $80s. I bought more. Then it fell to the mid $70s. I should have bought more again. I didn't. It is now off its lows by more than $9. If I had bought another few hundred shares, I could sell today and realize a gain of thousands. That said, nothing is a sure thing and some caution is never all that bad. As it is, I am up a few thousand.
As a buy and hold senior, realizing capital gains is tough but growing one's core investment funds it a big plus. Right now I hold more CIBC, more TD and more Telus than my allocation plan requires. When these stocks are all well into the plus column, I will sell off the extra and put that cash aside for future purchases. In this way I can boost my dividend income.
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