Who Should Sell Stocks?

34 Pages Posted: 7 Sep 2014 Last revised: 2 Nov 2017

See all articles by Paolo Guasoni

Paolo Guasoni

Boston University - Department of Mathematics and Statistics; Dublin City University - School of Mathematical Sciences; University of Bologna - Department of Statistics

Ren Liu

ETH Zürich

Johannes Muhle-Karbe

Imperial College London - Department of Mathematics

Date Written: September 21, 2017

Abstract

Never selling stocks is optimal for investors with a long horizon and a realistic range of preference and market parameters, if relative risk aversion, investment opportunities, proportional transaction costs, and dividend yields are constant. Such investors should buy stocks when their portfolio weight is too low, and otherwise hold them, letting dividends rebalance to cash over time rather than selling. With capital gain taxes, this policy outperforms both static buy-and-hold and dynamic rebalancing strategies that account for transaction costs. Selling stocks becomes optimal if either their target weight is low, or intermediate consumption is substantial.

Keywords: transaction costs, dividends, long-run, portfolio choice

JEL Classification: G11, G12

Suggested Citation

Guasoni, Paolo and Guasoni, Paolo and Liu, Ren and Muhle-Karbe, Johannes, Who Should Sell Stocks? (September 21, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2492465 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2492465

Paolo Guasoni (Contact Author)

Boston University - Department of Mathematics and Statistics ( email )

Boston, MA 02215
United States

Dublin City University - School of Mathematical Sciences ( email )

Dublin
Ireland

HOME PAGE: http://www.guasoni.com

University of Bologna - Department of Statistics ( email )

Bologna, 40126
Italy

Ren Liu

ETH Zürich ( email )

Rämistrasse 101
Zurich, CH-8092
Switzerland

Johannes Muhle-Karbe

Imperial College London - Department of Mathematics ( email )

South Kensington Campus
Imperial College
LONDON, SW7 1NE
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.ma.imperial.ac.uk/~jmuhleka/

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