I am a buy-and-hold investor. Every stock I purchase with the intent to hold forever. With that disclaimer out of the way, I need disclose I recently liquidated five positions in our family portfolio and further trimmed our position in Wells Fargo. Many of the positions I have initiated since June have depreciated significantly. Some of these under-performing stocks were priced for perfection at time of purchase and have since fallen out of favor with the market; other stocks have experienced significant changes to their business prospects. All of these losses were realized to mitigate taxes as I further reduce the portfolio's exposure to Wells Fargo. In December, when wash-sale rules no longer apply, I plan to initiate new positions in a few of these businesses.
It would be easy to blindly hold Wells Fargo (and the other positions in peril) and hope for the best - this strategy has worked well for 30 years - but before trimming of our stake in Wells its value was over 20% of the portfolio. Investors must be able to trust the managers of the businesses they own. Wells' management created a hostile work environment that drove employees to commit fraud. Tumultuous cultures were also present in two of the liquidated businesses which will not likely return to the portfolio.
To employ excess cash generated by these liquidations I added to our positions in Berkshire Hathaway and Amazon.com. Our stake in Wells remains the portfolio's largest holding, but our Berkshire position is now 15% less than our stake in Wells. Wall Street turned a cold shoulder to Amazon's latest earning report and I seized the opportunity to increase our exposure to one of the world's most intriguing businesses.
Investing is not easy, but through reflection and self-criticism I will learn from the mistakes I have made and will make in the future. I will hone my skills and through patience and experience the investing decisions I make will enable my family's financial security.