I exit when I either no longer love the product or see a replacement product I like better. I have my accounts at Fidelity and my 10 year RoR is 33% vs 9.78% for the S&P 500 (31% going back to 2003 when I consolidated accounts there).

What I like about the approach is that product is a leading indicator and can be judged by anyone. The financials and stock price seem to trail the product by 1-3 years on both the upside and downside.

BTW I fully agree with the original premise of the thread and think if you try actively trade on financials, timing etc. as a part timer you will get smoked by the pros, sooner or later.