What is the best way to sell a portfolio?

Answer 1

Your question lacks enough specificity to answer.

For example, imagine you inherited a portfolio and it is at Merril Lynch. The transfer costs to a low cost firm like E Trade or TD Ameritrade may be higher than the selling costs at Lynch.

If the stocks are in certificate form then it depends upon location and timing. For example, if your local bank has a discount broker they will almost certainly charge you much more than E-trade or TD Ameritrade, but you will almost certainly be able to liquidate immediately while it will take physically distant brokers at least weeks to be able to transfer and set up the account so the items can be sold.

Finally, scale matters. Stocks trade in units of 100 shares, as you increase the size of the block traded the price falls and can fall very very substantially. If you own 10,000 shares in most companies a single attempt at selling will materially impact the price. Even block trades on Walmart have a measurable impact, though smaller than most stocks.

Your question lacks specificity, present location, size and timing are all impacted and you will have to do a formal analysis based upon your specific needs for this portfolio. There are stocks that can take months to unload if you want to avoid crashing your market and destroying value. Of course if the broader market crashes in that time, you would have been better off selling all at once.

There is no clear answer, sorry.

Answer 2

Hi,
Generally you have to keep the stocks as long term investment. You have to off load them when the market is in full swing and buy them when the market goes down .Short term gain may not fetch desired result.

Answer 3

Talk to your advisor!