Nifty at All-Time Highs. SELL or HOLD?

livemint.com:

market reaching all-time highs. In March, when the Sensex was down around 10% from its previous all-time high, I thought there is more decline coming. After all, there were several headwinds that it had run into.

The US economy was struggling with inflation, tech stocks were falling like nine pins and our own market was showing signs of fatigue. And therefore, it was all but natural to assume that there is more downside coming. Well, it didn't.

True to its whimsical nature, the market took a massive U-turn and has never looked back since. As I write this, the index has already gone up 16% from its March lows and there is nothing on the horizon for the time being that can stop the rally in its tracks. Put differently, the bull run may continue for some more time.

This presents the classic dilemma for the average investor. Should he take advantage of this rally and exit a few stocks, or should he keep riding the bull to new highs? If he cashes out, especially from good quality stocks, there's no saying when he will get chance to get back again. And if he doesn't and if the market crashes, he would have missed out on a golden selling opportunity.

Now, we are in a pickle, aren't we? As if this wasn't confusing enough, countless advice from self-proclaimed experts and financial gurus, muddy the waters even more. You see, a similar dilemma used to haunt me as well in the past. Even I used to get cold feet approaching such situations and there used to be no simple solution in sight.