There are many research tools available to help you pick stocks for your portfolio.

But don’t put those research tools away after you’ve made your purchases. The act of buying a stock does not put an end to research, and it begins a process of careful monitoring to determine whether you should continue to own the stock.

When should you sell a stock? That depends on what you are trying to achieve. An investor’s goal is to accumulate money for a specific need, such as retirement. A trader’s goal is to make as much money as possible in as little time as possible.

If you are trying to trade for a profit, then your selling rules will focus on near-term data, such as price and volume.

A successful trader will sell out before losses mount, while letting his profits run. He may set a stop loss at 10% below his purchase price. If the stock has a run-up, he may sell it after he achieves a certain profit. Or he may hold on to the stock until it starts a retreat from a high.

Most people are not traders, however, nor should they be. Someone who invests for retirement has a longer horizon than a trader, and a different motive for owning stocks. The purpose of the rule set remains the same: to allow you to profit from the stock while protecting you against losses. However, the methodology is different.

Instead of focusing on intra-day changes in prices, investors with a longer horizon will sell when the stock fails to meet selection criteria.

Let’s say you chose a stock because it was a leader in its industry, with solid earnings growth and low debt. After a few years, you see that the company begins to lose its leadership position to a rival and significantly increases its debt load. No longer meeting the criteria you used to buy the stock, you sell it, irrespective of whether you’ve made a profit.

Here’s another example. If you are using Value Line for stock selection, you might be buying stocks that are ranked 1 or 2 for safety. You would sell when the stock falls in rank to a 3 or below.

What about taxes? Taxes should not get in the way of your selling discipline. Taxes are a fact of life. If a stock needs to be sold, sell it.

Individuals need to avoid some bad habits in order to improve their results.

First, don’t sell in reaction to the news.

Second, don’t sell your winning stocks too soon.

Third, don’t hold on to your losers with the idea that you’ll sell them after they turn a profit.

Fourth, don’t overestimate your knowledge or skills. Sell the stocks that were mistakes to make room for better choices.

Fifth, sell stocks that you shouldn’t own because they are too risky considering your financial situation.

Sixth, recognize that you are not investing to win a contest. Outperformance is not the goal.

Seventh, don’t trade too much. Based on studies of individual investors, those who trade the most earn the lowest returns.

Eighth, don’t act impetuously. Fish are caught because they snap at the bait. There will be plenty of opportunities to make a profit, all in due time and after careful consideration.

Finally, develop your own set of selling rules and follow them. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself using the “cross your fingers” method, hoping your losers will recover and that you’ll catch the next boom before riding it all the way down.

Good investing is a result of planning, careful stock selection and knowing when to sell. Losing portfolios are made up of random activity in reaction to a sales idea or something you see on the news.

DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

If you find you need to contact your brokerage firm's customer support department, but you can't remember the phone number, you might go online to a search engine to find the contact information -- and you might get caught up in a scam as a result.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which oversees the U.S. broker-dealer industry, has found that scammers are impersonating some FINRA member firms' support centers by using "sponsored search result ads" (tinyurl.com/mwmexxfu). You may recognize these ads: They frequently appear as the first search results when using a web browser or search engine.

When someone clicks on the scam ad, "instead of being directed to the firm's page, they're taken to a fraudulent website controlled by bad actors," FINRA reported, adding that scammers "then attempt to steal funds or personal information from their targets."

How does the ad scam work?

Sponsored ads are created that mimic a firm's legitimate information, FINRA said. The ads often use a firm's logo -- or an image that is extremely similar to the logo. The ad might have the firm's URL or web address -- but clicking on the link will actually lead you to a different destination.

Because the fake ad might appear to be a natural result of a legitimate search (since sponsored ads often appear near regular search results), it can be difficult to spot.

If you end up at the fraudulent website, the scammers "might attempt to gain access to your computer by prompting you to download remote login software or malware," according to the Investor Insight.

If they are successful, the scammers "can retrieve personal information and login credentials, transfer funds and install malware for future attacks -- potentially all without you realizing what has occurred."

As FINRA points out, the ad can include a fraudulent phone number, and if you call that number, you can still become a victim of fraud even if you never visit the fake website.

FINRA notes that this scam is closely related to tech support scams, a particular plague for those over the age of 60. The FBI's 2023 Internet Crime Report indicated that tech and customer support fraud, along with government impersonation, involved losses totaling more than $1.3 billion, with more than $770 million of that total related to those over age 60 (tinyurl.com/45k9v597).

FINRA offers a number of suggestions to avoid such a scam, including:

-- Contact the firm's support center directly from the firm's website or mobile application, rather than using a search engine. If you need to call the firm, use the number on your account statement.

-- If you should use a search engine, make sure you "differentiate between ads and legitimate search results." Ads often appear with the word "sponsored" or "ad" in the copy above them, or they might have background shading or appear in a box.

-- Check for typos or incorrect characters in headlines or URLs. If you click on a URL, make sure it matches the website address that is displayed.

-- If at any time during a support session you feel uncomfortable or suspect a scam, "end the session immediately by closing your browser and related programs, disconnecting your internet, or hanging up the call."

What should you do if you are drawn into a support center scam?

Act right away. Change your passwords immediately and report the incident to your brokerage firm. Some firms will recommend that your accounts be closed and new accounts opened in their place. Be sure to carefully review your accounts for unauthorized transfers, withdrawals, charges or unauthorized activity.

Run an antivirus scan on your computer. If the scam involves a fraudulent ad, report it to the relevant search engine company.

Report the scam to FINRA (tinyurl.com/33u3am95), the SEC (tinyurl.com/mxzt4mvw) and the FBI (tinyurl.com/3ta7mseb).

Regular readers know that I'm a fan of FINRA as a solid, unbiased resource of investor education. Take a little time to look at FINRA's other resources, such as how to identify imposter investment scams (tinyurl.com/2vubj8jz) and how to protect your money (tinyurl.com/bdf9jd3t).

And, as always, let me know what's on your mind (readers@juliejason.com). What questions do you have that we can address together in this column?

DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Numerous changes to retirement accounts have come through two SECURE Acts, which took effect in 2020 and 2022. Yet one thing has remained constant: the age eligibility for making a tax-free withdrawal from an IRA that is paid directly to a qualified charity.

Called a QCD, or qualified charitable distribution, the IRA owner must be at least age 70 1/2 at the time of the QCD withdrawal -- see IRS Publication 590-B (tinyurl.com/577djj2n). Age 70 1/2 used to be the age for starting required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts, but that age requirement has been climbing since 2019, from 70 1/2 to 72 to the current age of 73 (with 75 set to arrive within the next decade).

A reader who inherited an IRA from someone well over 70 1/2 who had been taking QCDs (and RMDs) pushes the age question a little further. "Henry" wants to know if he can take QCDs from the IRA he inherited, even though he himself is under age 70 1/2. When he wrote to me, Henry pointed out that he did some research on his question and remarked: "I'm not finding any exceptions in IRS literature to the age rule."

Henry is right about the lack of exceptions.

IRS Notice 2007-7 supports the conclusion that QCD age 70 1/2 applies to beneficiaries of inherited IRAs (tinyurl.com/4hpf2kxa). Question 37 in the notice deals directly with Henry's situation: "Is the exclusion for qualified charitable distributions available for distributions from an IRA maintained for a beneficiary if the beneficiary has attained age 70 1/2 before the distribution is made?"

The answer? "Yes. The exclusion from gross income for qualified charitable distributions is available for distributions from an IRA maintained for the benefit of a beneficiary after the death of the IRA owner if the beneficiary has attained age 70 1/2 before the distribution is made."

Henry will need to wait until he is over 70 1/2 before he can take a QCD as the IRA beneficiary. That's too bad, since Henry does need to take RMDs from the inherited IRA, which trigger income taxes.

With no QCD available to him until he is QCD age, he does have other options to soften the tax bite while contributing to charity. For example, he can make a charitable contribution by writing a check to a charity using non-IRA money.

The tax savings won't be quite as large as a full offset that QCDs offer -- that is, if your RMD is $10,000 and your QCD is $10,000, your tax on the RMD is zero. If you can't do a QCD but instead donate $10,000 to charity from a non-IRA account, you would qualify for a charitable tax deduction, but the amount of the deduction would depend on your tax situation.

To get a sense of what that deduction would be in your situation, experiment with the Charitable Giving Tax Savings Calculator online at tinyurl.com/2xuethnz. The calculator is a tool offered by Fidelity Charitable.

Before leaving the topic of QCDs, there is a change in the maximum that can be donated to charity through a QCD. Starting in 2024, the maximum that can qualify for a QCD ($100,000) will increase annually. For 2024, the limit is $105,000 (tinyurl.com/3s4w73tb). Note that each spouse can do his or her own QCD, provided the spouse meets the other requirements, including being 70 1/2 or older.

As always, I caution you that while we can talk about general concepts in this column, you need to visit with your accountant or tax adviser before taking any action on RMDs, QCDs, charitable gifting or taxes. These decisions will be personal to you, based on your unique circumstances.

If you have topic ideas or questions that I can address in this column, I encourage you to write to me at readers@juliejason.com. It's always good to hear from you.

DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION