One of my sons is a fairly recent college grad and a newbie software developer for Microsoft (been there 1.5 years). He gets stock grants and also participates in their ESOP, and MSFT stock makes up about 30% of his NW. I know the standard thinking is don’t own lots of stock in your employer, and while Berkshire isn’t my employer I’ve done well over the past few decades with a big majority of my NW in Berkshire.

His basis in the stock is around 250 I think, and while he’s happy about the huge gains he’s wondering if he should sell some. The stock is held in an after tax account.

I told him it’s easy to sell when things are high, but hard to jump back in IMO. Plus the capital gains tax problem. Instead of selling, I recommended he keep building up some cash so he can take advantage of any big dips in the price.

Thoughts? Is my bias leading him astray because I got lucky with Berkshire?

Berkshire Hathaway FAQ

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