Financial disasters happen all the time -- occasionally to you! That's why you need to be prepared. You may be carrying enough insurance to offset the costs of any sudden natural disaster, and investing in a diversified portfolio has protected you at least in some part from losses and underperformance.

But there's probably one financial disaster you haven't anticipated: What if your stock holdings go through the roof?

The perils of portfolio pops
Imagine that you buy shares of Scruffy's Chicken Shack (Ticker: BGAWK) for $20 apiece. Within a year, thanks to some super earnings reports and bullish commentary from management and analysts, the stock tops $50. You've made more than 150% on the stock, which is good news. But here's the disaster:

For someone who's made $15,000 on one stock in a year, you're in quite a pickle, no?

This isn't such an extreme situation, either. Even in this tough market, getting in at the right time could have produced some big gains. Take a look at some of the following recent year-to-date returns:

Stock

YTD Return

Ford Motor (NYSE: F)

211%

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX)

204%

AMD (NYSE: AMD)

172%

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS)

127%

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)

123% Continued...