When to sell a stock and when you shouldn't

Knowing when to sell a stock is often trickier and more emotionally charged than knowing when to buy. We turned to Paul Larson, former chief equities strategist at Morningstar and a respected voice in long-term investing, for his insights on what the selling process should entail. In his 2007 whitepaper ‘When to Sell (and When Not to Sell)’, Larson distilled years of market experience into a framework that remains timeless in its clarity. Drawing on that paper, we spotlight four sound reasons to part ways with a stock and four instances where selling might be premature or even downright counterproductive.

This article was originally published on June 22, 2025.