Selling in Pieces
How scaling out works for profit-taking, a worked example with real numbers, and the honest trade-offs compared with selling all at once.
The middle path
Selling everything at a target locks in a gain but caps the upside. Holding everything with a trailing stop gives unlimited upside but risks giving back a lot. Selling in pieces, often called scaling out, sits between the two. You sell part of the position at one or more targets and keep the rest for a potentially larger move.
The Scaling In & Out lesson in the Position Sizing category introduced the idea from a risk angle. This lesson focuses on using it as a profit-taking plan.
An illustrative three-part exit: two targets, then a trailing stop for the final third.
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