AgEng06 said:
Talk to me like I'm five...
What's the best way to take that profit? Sell off shares of whatever stocks to get back to my original balance, then transfer that profit out of my account? Let it sit as cash? Re-invest in other stocks?
What if I want to hold long positions in the companies?
Depends on the amount invested, but two common strategies would be:
1) sell enough shares that equal the profit you've made... thus you've taken those chips off the table.
2) sell enough shares that equal your original cost/basis... thus your "capital" is no longer exposed and you've got free money out there.
In either case, the cash you now hold can be deployed however you see fit or into whatever strategy you have. Whether that's reinvested elsewhere, save in cash, or spend.
If you want to hold long positions in these companies anyways, continuing to hold the shares (and not sell) is also a perfectly reasonable strategy.