Admitting I was wrong.

I've long been an investor in Royal Dutch Shell. Ever since I turned 18 and started investing, it has been one of the largest positions in my portfolio.

Today, I have sold half my stake and intend to sell the rest as soon as the market looks remotely more favourable. For too long, I have been wedded to my view about Shell, and the time has come, after a 40% loss in the position, for me to recognise that the value I have always claimed no longer exists.

With oil plunging 30% at the market open, I can no longer sustain my position and Shell cannot be profitable, a combined supply and demand shock will likely wipe out all profits for the quarter and result in some heavy losses.

Yes, it is possible that this supply shock is only transitory as the Saudi's try to force the Russian's hand, but it seems like this could be a long drawn out price war, and on my investment horizon I am simply not happy to consider holding oil positions all the way out to 2023-2025 given the increasing push toward green energy.

Holding RDS has been a valuable lesson for me; to always re-evaluate the likely outcomes of a stock and be incredibly careful to monitor the macro viewpoint.