When you buy a stock, how long do you usually hold it for?

The average trade is held 6 months.

ya about the same for me sometimes closer to a year.

Well about the same unless they pay good dividends and then I stick with it as long as I can afford it.

No particular time frame.  If something starts to trend downward, I'm out.  For the contest, I'll let a price float down about 3% before I sell.  In my real accounts, I'll give a little more room for a price to fall as there is a better chance of longer term price recovery and I can use options to hedge losses.

 If it hasn't done what I thought it was gonna do after 2 or 3 days then I get out. If it does do what I think its gonna do then I get out after 2 or 3 days and get ready for the next one. Sometimes the first day pays me well enough that I have to take the profit. One example of this would be JBLU on tuesday. A thousand bucks in the first 1/2 hour??? How can you beat that??

 

 

I tend to buy stocks in areas with momentum and hold for about 6 months.

 Used to be years, now it's usually a few weeks to a couple of months at most.

 Though I have a couple dogs I just can't bring myself to sell. They'll turn around someday!!! :)

woodycanuck:

 Used to be years, now it's usually a few weeks to a couple of months at most.

This is apparently the norm.  The average used to be 5 years and is now down to 6 months.

As people beome more and more impatient the holding time is shortening.  Probably a result of the instant response of internet.

I have rea that investors on average would do better if they traded less. According to Whitney Tilson, Investors can get an advantage just by holding positions longer than 6 months.

Warren Buffet's approach, has also been to buy and hold for long periods of time. 

He says "Inactivity strikes him as intelligent behaviour"

 Of course this is only going to be effective if you choose good solid companies, with a competitive advantage.