Stock: Reflection on GS

Had setup a sell limit order for GS and it got executed 5/14. Forgot what price I even had the sell limit at.

Reason for sell:

GS has really lagged the S&P since I bought it. Originally it was a diversification play but of course buying it right around the financial crisis was not a good call. Now, I’m not comfortable with owning GS outright as I’m not sure exactly what business they’re in plus the stress test result. I think financial institution are a bit riskier play these days. Plus owning Berkshire gives exposure to GS anyways.

Final Numbers:

Bought: 5/11/10 @ 142.25

Sold: 5/14/13 @ 151.53

Total Return (incl dividends + commission): 9.5%

Return based on Stock Price: 151.53-142.25/142.25 = 6.52%

Return vs S&P: -37.75%

Conclusion:

Failure. S&P returned ~44% during the exact same time period. And that is why I need to make sure my individual stock picking is only a small % of the overall.