Need to limit my account viewing.

[OldShooter]

I've mentioned this before, but the behavioral finance folks (Thaler, et al) have research that says people who frequently check their accounts typically have poorer investment performance than those who do not.

The theory is that we little mammals are highly risk averse and we are more sensitive to the down days than we are to the "ups." This causes us to trade more even though the long-term trends are up.

Not sure that result would apply to the folks here but we are well satisfied with our results and we really look seriously at our investments only once a year. I reconcile the accounts in Quicken monthly but really don't pay much attention to performance. I just want the Quicken numbers to match the brokerage's numbers. Schwab's blanket indemnification against unauthorized transactions makes me unworried about fraud.

Since we moved our equity tranche into just one fund we really don't have much to look at any more.

 

[MichaelB]

the behavioral finance folks (Thaler, et al) have research that says people who frequently check their accounts typically have poorer investment performance than those who do not.

There can be no doubt this is the case. Checking frequently leads to the impulse to act. The less people look the less they feel compelled to act.

 

[OldShooter]

There can be no doubt this is the case. Checking frequently leads to the impulse to act. The less people look the less they feel compelled to act.

Buffett: "Much success can be attributed to inactivity. Most investors cannot resist the temptation to constantly buy and sell." ... "Lethargy, bordering on sloth should remain the cornerstone of an investment style."

 

[Koolau]

I can go a year or two without looking. Vanguard used to send me quarterly statements (and monthly on the brokerage acct.) But, now to see anything, I have to look it up. Not much interest as long as the markets are more or less stable or rising as in today's world.



The one thing that I keep noticing: Looking does not change the results!

 

[Scrapr]

I only look on "up days". If the markets down that day or several days then I wait for a few up days. 2008+ was hard on me ;-))

 

[jebmke]

I can go a year or two without looking. Vanguard used to send me quarterly statements (and monthly on the brokerage acct.) But, now to see anything, I have to look it up. Not much interest as long as the markets are more or less stable or rising as in today's world.



The one thing that I keep noticing: Looking does not change the results!

I have also noticed that I cannot go back in time and act on historical returns so I ignore them.

 

[CardsFan]

I've mentioned this before, but the behavioral finance folks (Thaler, et al) have research that says people who frequently check their accounts typically have poorer investment performance than those who do not.

There can be no doubt this is the case. Checking frequently leads to the impulse to act. The less people look the less they feel compelled to act.

I have no reason to doubt the statistics, but I, for one, look at it almost every day and rarely take any action. When I do take action, it is because the AA got out of whack, or I finally decided what I will sell to generate needed cash.

Over the years I have found this has helped me visualized how the portfolio moves with the market, and to assure myself that it has always come back, and then some.

But, I agree that someone who hasn't been in the market for 30+ years might be more reactive.

 

[HI Bill]

I check several times a day, especially when the markets are rising. When they're falling, my checking falls to several times a week. Fortunately, I'm not prone to panic selling, and fortunately, when the market tanked 30% in 2020, I was in New Zealand with poor internet connections. I just watched it fall daily, but sold nothing. It's part entertainment, part planning, part awareness for me. I call it managing my $, but it's really more like 'monitoring'.

 

[TheWizard]

I'm aware of the concept that folks who look at their investments too frequently are likely to take actions that ultimately turn out to be ill-advised.

In a Lake Wobegon point of view, I'd suggest that doesn't apply to me. Most of the time, the action I'm pondering is what to do with the $3000 I just transferred to my settlement fund.
I'll be setting up a buy limit order, but for VOO, VGT, or QQQ?

I have been pondering a "trade" for the past few months. I have a small amount of Vanguard REIT, VNQ, that I bought several years ago. Sadly, it has underperformed S&P 500 VOO consistently. So I'm thinking it would be fun to sell it and move the proceeds into VOO.
In a month or two, I may actually do this...

 

[F.I.R.E User]

I check everyday in my Empower account.

 

[jazz4cash]

I look at my main account almost every day and sometimes more than once per day. I don't see how it is harmful unless I make changes which I almost never do. In fact, it probably helps me since I see the small incremental changes on a regular basis, I am never surprised by a big change up or down. I think it really depends on the individual.

 

[pb4uski]

I look at my accounts at least every few days, principally because of Schwab's assinine lack of a sweep account that pays decent interest so I have to do it manually as I don't want money sitting in their 0.24% settlement account when it can be in SWVXX money market fund at ~5%+

 

[rodi]

I check weekly, Friday nights. And more often if I hear buzz that the market is up. I also check when I'm doing trades or transfers. Verifying the kids 529 money hit my checking account before I send it off to them for their monthly housing... I transfer money from an inherited IRA quarterly (for the rmd stuff) and then transfer monthly 1/3 the proceeds from that to my checking. ...

I'd say on average I check 6 times a month for various reasons.

 

[marko]

I have no reason to doubt the statistics, but I, for one, look at it almost every day and rarely take any action. When I do take action, it is because the AA got out of whack, or I finally decided what I will sell to generate needed cash.

Over the years I have found this has helped me visualized how the portfolio moves with the market, and to assure myself that it has always come back, and then some.

.

+1. You said it better than I did in post #23.

 

[Dtail]

I check BOA credit cards and checking account daily for security reasons.

 

[Quattro73]

I look at my checking and savings accounts daily. A friend of mine had her B of A account robbed of 20k. They refused to reimburse her because she didn’t notice it for 48 hours. They told her it needed to be reported within 24 hours. She filed a police report and intends to hire a lawyer to help get her money back. If I banked there I would be leaving.

You have 60 days per federal regs:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask... latest, you must,before you notify your bank.

 

[dmpi]

I look at my accounts at least every few days, principally because of Schwab's assinine lack of a sweep account that pays decent interest so I have to do it manually as I don't want money sitting in their 0.24% settlement account when it can be in SWVXX money market fund at ~5%+

I have to do this too. Very important if you have a big CD/bond maturing. Schwab can be such a pain.

 

[JackJester]

I check all my accounts (Credit Union Checking, Ally HYSA, Schwab IRA/Brokerage, TIAA IRA, CC expenses) on the first of each month. I enter each CC expense manually into my spreadsheet into my various categories so I can see where each expense is taking place. And then I log into each IRA/brokerage account and enter balances into the spreadsheet. All things are recorded in Excel. Its a manual process, but I enjoy doing it in the morning with a good coffee brew on a monthly basis. I'm only 2 yrs into FIRE so I expect I will be less anal as time passes, and then migrate to simple quarterly visual glances for any abnormalities.

 

[jollystomper]

In my view, this issue is not looking at your account every day, but what the emotional result is of looking at your accounts every day. If seeing the ups and downs swings your daily mood between manic and depressive, then, yes, you should not be looking at them every day. But, if you are just curious as to how your investments are impacted, particularly after a big market change, and the result is just an "okay" and you go on enjoying life, then it is fine .


I look at my investments accounts several times a week, but they have long stopped to impact my mood, they are just interesting. Since I have transaction alerts send on my bank and CC accounts, I will look at them only if an alert happens that I am not anticipating, or my Quicken transaction update (about every 7-10 days).

 

[audreyh1]

I have to do this too. Very important if you have a big CD/bond maturing. Schwab can be such a pain.

I have reminders in my iOS calendar when CDs mature and T-bills rollover or mature.

 

[audreyh1]

I check all my accounts (Credit Union Checking, Ally HYSA, Schwab IRA/Brokerage, TIAA IRA, CC expenses) on the first of each month. I enter each CC expense manually into my spreadsheet into my various categories so I can see where each expense is taking place. And then I log into each IRA/brokerage account and enter balances into the spreadsheet. All things are recorded in Excel. Its a manual process, but I enjoy doing it in the morning with a good coffee brew on a monthly basis. I'm only 2 yrs into FIRE so I expect I will be less anal as time passes, and then migrate to simple quarterly visual glances for any abnormalities.

Yes I’m generally updating most of my accounts on the first of the month and reconciling many that use calendar month cycles.

I have reminders in my iOS calendar when statements are ready for the other accounts. Download transactions and reconcile statements in Quicken.

 

[marko]

I'm retired! What else have I got to do!

 

[racy]

I'm going to try to stop looking at my account balance every day. Starting April 1st...

I call BS. Obviously an April Fools joke.

 

[Jerry1]

I call BS. Obviously an April Fools joke.

I get the humor, but I'm serious about this.

I'm finding that since I moved from my FA and simplified my portfolio, it's much more predictable and there's less to actually look at. I'm kind of thinking that since there's little need to look at it, I should stop looking at it so much. It's more of a need to recognize that I'm okay - there's enough and day to day changes aren't necessary for me to absorb.

Some comments in this thread have been useful, specifically about security. I'm going to check my settings and make sure I'm comfortable with the security settings - specifically the notification settings. I appreciate the input.

 

[DrRoy]

I have been totaling my investments on a monthly basis for decades.