re: Taking gains- what’s your approach?

I focus on % of portfolio and try to keep that relatively consistant. That takes alot of the guesswork day to day, out of the equation. If I want to make a outsized bet on something, I do it via options in a different account. Then once a month or so, much less frequently, I might look at my %'s and alter that if needed.

As said before, knowing what to buy and when, is way easier than knowing what to sell, and when. Way more human emotion involved in selling, so you have to have a plan, or over a long enough timeline, you will lose money.

I have 2 portfolios. One of which is larger and indexed, and the other is all long individual stocks. It's nice to get a constant reminder how unlikely it is that you are going to beat the indexes, but I like paying attention and making picks as a hobby and I also find it helps me in my personal career to be attuned to what companies are doing and what's working. Lately, it seems when the market is going badly, my individual account beats my index accounts, and vice versa.