How to secure cash at the peak

Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:34:47
149.**.48.72

I have been investing in stocks for 7 years... I mostly just buy and rarely sell, so my returns are not bad. But since I need to use all this money within the next two years, I am trying to play it a bit conservatively. Reading the comments, I noticed many people cash out 20-30% at the peak and re-enter at the low point. Timing it is extremely difficult, but it seems safer that way, so I am thinking of trying it.

For those of you who cash out at the peak like this, what percentage do you cash out, and do you buy back into the same stock when it drops? Or do you rebalance into different stocks? Since individual stocks make up a large portion of my portfolio, I am thinking of selling 20-30% when I feel they have risen a lot to buy additional ETFs... While no one can know the future, in the past, individual stocks in my account have always gone up significantly, so I wonder if doing this is the right move...

Tags: ETF

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Comments 12

209.**.9.177 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:41:07) | Reply

If you're a high earner and have to pay 40% tax even on long-term capital gains (federal, state, NIIT), try seeing if that plausible-sounding plan (selling high and buying low lol) actually goes according to plan. You'll just go broke.
It's best to just keep long-term investing in index funds and grow your assets through compounding.

222.**.61.185 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:41:25) Like

From what annual salary is it considered high income?

137.**.117.86 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:40:22) | Reply

You just need to rebalance regularly once every 3 or 6 months.
For example:
Invest 30% in leverage
Invest 40% in index
Hold 30% in cash
While holding like this, rebalance regularly every 3 or 6 months to match the percentages above.
Then, automatically, you sell high on what went up a lot, buy a bit more on the cheap for what went up less, and hold the rest as cash.
I've been in the stock market for many years and tried all kinds of methods, but the method above gives the most peace of mind and is definitely effective.

180.**.241.249 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:40:44) Like

Do you just keep holding onto cash? Or do you actually use it during a market crash? In my case, I don't use leverage, but I'm 90% individual stocks and 10% index... Taking profit on individual stocks to increase my ETF allocation would be safer, right?

222.**.233.38 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:38:33) | Reply

When I get close to my profit-taking target, I sell in increments of 1/3, and if the profit exceeds 100%, I leave 10% and sell 90% to exit. And when buying again, it doesn't necessarily have to be that same stock; I compare various assets, and when the stock with the highest probability of going up based on my standards gets close to its buying range, I go in with 2/3 at first, and if things go as expected, I put in the remaining 1/3 as well. (Doesn't buying and selling repeatedly like that incur a lot of taxes? ---> There is only one asset that I buy and accumulate without selling. Except for that one, I buy and sell repeatedly even for long-term investments. Taxes naturally come up, but because I prefer highly volatile stocks, buying and selling repeatedly makes me more money. However, you must have clear criteria, an analysis method with a high win rate, and good risk management.)

27.**.113.167 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:35:37) | Reply

Selling a bit at the high and buying in at the low is the textbook play.
If you're good at this... you go to Wall Street. If it were easy, wouldn't anyone do it and make money?
Give it a try and leave an update.........

Usually, people sell because it seems like the high, fail to find the low, buy back in out of FOMO, the stock drops, and they lose money.... That's how it usually goes.
I think just holding without selling is how you make money. Even if you cash out when you actually need the money.

23.**.106.27 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:39:03) Like

I know that timing the market is really difficult, so I only did long-term investing for 7 years... Ultimately, holding onto it for a long, long time without timing the market seemed like the answer, so I want to do that... but since it's money I have to use in 2 years... that's why I was thinking about it... Highs and lows are a matter of personal judgment... looking at my return rate, I should judge for myself, thinking, "I should pull out around this much," without being too greedy...
I'm asking the people in the comments here (+ even someone on YouTube who invests conservatively said they exit a bit at the peak to rebalance... which made me realize that unconditional long-term holding isn't necessarily the answer) who cash out a little at a time at the peak instead of selling everything... because I'm curious about how they do it...

139.**.19.149 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:39:21) Like

No one knows the highs and lows, and even experts can't time the market. But I agree with selling individual stocks to buy ETFs. If it were me, I'd do it at the same time.

107.**.52.218 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:39:45) Like

I know that too, but I just can't sell. Looking back later, you might think, "Ah, that was the peak," or "that was the bottom," but at the time, you don't know.
Even with Hynix, when it hit 300, everyone was saying it would go to 500, so I couldn't sell, and then it got cut in half.
Looking back, I wish I had sold at 300, but honestly, ever since it was at 200, plenty of people were saying it was already at its peak,
and if I had sold back then, how frustrated would I have been when it climbed up to 300?
And I might have bought back in around 270...
It's right to just hold onto US blue-chip stocks, but for Korean stocks, I should have been less greedy and sold ㅠㅠ

45.**.109.210 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:35:17) | Reply

I've been investing in stocks for 20 years, unable to sell out of greed when prices go up, and chuckling "I should've sold then" when they drop. Still, since I hold on without selling, they do eventually go up. I only do blue-chip stocks, so the progress is slow, and there were many times I wondered if I should jump on board when others were making big money with momentum stocks. It seems like there's no set way with stocks anyway, so I think I'll gradually sell off my blue chips and buy funds instead. Even buying ETFs requires timing, which is just too much of a hassle.

122.**.185.169 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:36:05) Like

Hahaha, here's another one over here. Before the total duds go up, only the ones who set limit orders saying "I'll sell if it goes up this much" are selling without even realizing they've been sold.

27.**.89.226 (Created at Aug 08, 2026 13:36:25) Like

If you get caught in a cycle where prices go up when you sell and down when you buy, you'll lose half your money within two years. Though most people think, "It won't be me."