From the sale of shares

This summer, something that is a classic holiday experience happened to me: a moment of inattention in an airport, motivated thieves and, hey presto, no more backpack (= computer, cash, keys, electronic accessories of all kinds and so on). An unpleasant moment if ever there was one, mitigated by the fact that luckily my passport was in my pocket and so the trip was not interrupted.

Once the 'shock', the inconvenience, the filing of a report with the airport police have passed, we take stock: there is a backup of the computer at home and at the office, the 'damage' is only financial, the keys, given the distance from Switzerland, will certainly not be used fraudulently, the credit card is reported stolen and we have others on us. In short, all this is only material and reimbursable by insurance. We can even argue that it's nice to have a new laptop!

However, there is always a slight unpleasant taste in the mouth after this kind of experience. There was no physical violence, thank God, of course the cash will not be refunded. But it is something else more intangible and intuitive: the backpack was a backpack that I cared about (even if it was nothing special). My computer bore the traces of its few falls and had become an appendage of my person, for better or worse. The headphones were a gift from my wife. I was attached to these objects, to greater or lesser degrees: they represented experiences, memories, sometimes even had a soul. However, in my case, there was not even a worthless object that could have touched me strongly emotionally (the key ring of the youngest that he tinkered for Father's Day...).

So I said to myself, I manage (I don't know about you) to get attached to perfectly replaceable, 'common' objects, even reimbursed by insurance in the case at hand because they have accompanied me for part of my life and as such, represent something in my eyes.

This reflection led me to draw a parallel with the often-started, but not really resolved, discussion about the timing of the opportune sale of stocks that have performed well (or poorly, for that matter!). Indeed, I must admit that my reflection on the theft of objects led me to recognize that I am attached to my securities and especially my stocks: is there anything more anonymous than a stock (no pun intended)? We do not receive them at home as was the case a few decades ago. They are one of the most virtual possessions we can imagine, they are the representation of something even more abstract: money. And yet every time I sell a stock I feel a pang in my heart, a feeling of betrayal to someone (me?), a lost 'little paradise', memories that come back to me: stock bought at that time (which evokes other memories), reflection made before the purchase, pleasure or frustration of seeing things evolve in the good or bad direction, dividends collected, perhaps even use of dividends: this new car was (partially) bought thanks to these dividends.

Maybe I'm a bit of a special case and deep down it doesn't bother me too much. On the other hand, I think a little introspection would be interesting the next time you get rid of a title and take a few minutes to analyze what's happening inside you: it's not neutral or harmless, and above all, it only makes the decision-making more complicated because it's based on a subjectivity itself dependent on what happens to you that day.

My little advice: objectify the analysis by involving other people you trust.