Congratulations, Jim, on your stellar return this year despite hoarding so much cash and having such challenging battles in some of your stocks ... DG (DLTR? KMX? vs S&P 500, I mean). I really haven't paid too much attention to what you do (so pardon me if I mis-perceive how your have been trading) as I prefer to be reasonably insulated from outside noises.

Charlie replies on I’m Trimming - Filed @472

I think it won't be easy for me to pick pennies like you tracing a falling stock. Rather, I focus on taking concentrated positions in good growth companies with strong moat and let profits ride for a long period of time. Contrary to your belief, I'm quite risk-averse and scrutinize the downside much more intensely than the upside when I set up a position, but I'm super long-term oriented with a decent cash buffer so I'm not too bother with what might happen in the next year or two. And I do utilize options to facilitate better entry points and to hedge.

Now, my portfolio is about 15% in cash at the moment and my stock portfolio is up 37% YTD. My only sizable position in tech stock is Apple. I had no meaningful loss in any of my U.S. positions this year (obviously due to luck and the runaway bull market). The 5-year annualized return of my stock portfolio is 10%+ over my benchmark of S&P 500 (with cash position ranging from 5% - 15% each year).