A bagholder is someone who holds onto a losing investment for too long, missing the opportunity to minimize losses. Bagholders can emerge when investors become emotionally attached to an asset or have a strong belief in its value.
Investors may hold on to their assets out of loyalty or even due to denial, hoping that the asset will regain lost value rather than cutting their losses and moving on.
The term “holding the bag” refers to a situation where an investor or trader has invested in an asset and it becomes worthless, or nearly so.
Bagholder Examples
Example 1: If you purchased stock in a company that went bankrupt and became insolvent, your investment would be considered “held by the bag” because its value would be zero.
Example 2: Let’s say that you buy 1,000 shares of a stock at $50 per share, for a total investment of $50,000. You believe that the stock is going to increase in value, so you hold onto it for several months.
However, instead of going up, the stock price drops to $25 per share. You’re now left holding an investment that’s only worth $25,000, and you’ve lost $25,000 on the investment.
If you try to sell the stock, you’ll have to accept the $25 per share price, which is a significant loss from your initial investment. At this point, you’re a bagholder because you’re stuck with an investment that’s lost value and you’re unable to sell it without taking a loss.
Other investors who sold their positions earlier may have avoided this fate, but you’re left holding the “bag” of a losing investment.
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