Don't look at your investments too closely.

[KarenF]

I thought this article was interesting. We have an investment advisor (low fee) and stick to a 70/30 allocation. I don't look at the stock market everyday or even every week.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-retirees-should-navigate-this-bear-market-11656090138

 

[Midpack]

I check all my holdings quarterly, no more, no less. I think you’ll find lots of that here…though it’s a learned posture - I watched CNBC and checked stock prices daily when I first started investing 35 years ago. Took about three years to realize it was a waste of time.

 

[JoeWras]

Just looked at my AA for the quarter and realize I'm going to have to buy some VTI to ratchet up the stock portion. I only look quarterly.

I am looking at short term cash instruments with high frequency right now. There's too much action on the upside to just let it languish in bank account paying almost zero. But this doesn't mean I'm going to cash, it is just managing my existing cash.

 

[easysurfer]

I look every quarter. Rebalance every year .

 

[dmpi]

I look at my investments once a week. Not only to see how they've done but to also ensure that nobody stole all my money. I would highly advice people to check at least once a month because after that you may have no recourse with the broker/investment company to get your money back.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

You all realize this is the *active* investing section?

Looking once a quarter/year doesn't seem very active, it seems pretty sloth like

ETA: I've gotten "better" over the years. I used to have a daily tracking spreadsheet that I manually updated every day. Then I created a spreadsheet that would auto-update stock values so that I could track in real time (across multiple accounts). Then I created something similar in google sheets. These days I don't keep the sheet updated (too much trading) and instead just occasionally get account values - how occasionally depends on what has been going on in the market.

 

[Car-Guy]

I look at my investment account (401k) ~quarterly... I almost never buy/sell/trade or withdraw from that account. Matter of fact, I think I made one small withdrawal from that account a few years ago just to see how well/easy it would be to do. My speculation account(s) (IRA and cash) I look at multiple times a day since I swing trade in those accounts... I've been doing this since I retired over a decade ago... But especially the last few years. (Covid made me an on-line trading junkie). It's also become a hobby.


Looking at the ROI of these accounts, I can confirm that the buy and hold strategy of my 401k is by far more profitable than the swing trading in my IRA and cash accounts. Imagine that! YMMV

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

I'm a daily kind of guy.

 

[finnski1]

You all realize this is the *active* investing section?

Looking once a quarter/year doesn't seem very active, it seems pretty sloth like

Good point. I have a full blown stock ticker running all day during the trading week and check it constantly. Doesn't mean I trade very often, just like to look at it and I also have my accounts open at the same time so monitor those regularly (daily) as well.

 

[scrabbler1]

Twice a month, usually. Once, mid-month, when I record balances in my taxable accounts, and end-of-month, when I record monthly dividends. When I do any additional transactions, I look at, but do not record balances. On any of these views, I may do a rebalancing move.

 

[latexman]

I'm a daily kind of guy.

Me too, but most of the time I do nothing, only when my AA is 5% or more off 60/40.

 

[Lsbcal]

You all realize this is the *active* investing section?

Looking once a quarter/year doesn't seem very active, it seems pretty sloth like

...

Active investor here too.

The mark of a good investor is his/her total return. Does not matter how often you check.

 

[jazz4cash]

Me too, but most of the time I do nothing, only when my AA is 5% or more off 60/40.

+2
I find seeing relatively small daily declines to be less unnerving than waiting to see a huge decline for the whole month or quarter. Also I am actively looking for bargains, primarily in fixed income these days but the daily performance is prominent.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Active investor here too.

The mark of a good investor is his/her total return. Does not matter how often you check.

Could be coincidence, but I feel like some of the advice that gets put out there is more to the benefit of companies who don't want you to see how poorly their funds or stocks are doing to keep investors from selling.

 

[Rianne]

)) If Rip Van Winkle fell asleep in 1987 and woke up today, I think he might be pleased. We tend to be short-sighted and refer to YTD and forget to look at 10 years passed.

I like the reference to Ulysses and the sirens. I have a tendency to have immediate emotional reactions but come to my senses before too much damage is done.

 

[steelyman]

Software like Google Sheets makes it very easy to track and check investments so I do. But I rarely trade.

It’s easy to check the weather too although I may adjust my daily plans based on that information.

 

[yakers]

Check my main account and checking mostly daily, once a month total up various accounts, about once a year calculate AA and adjust if far off target. But then DW & I are into RMDs/QCDs and so have to figure what we are going to sell and every now & then have built up too much in checking and look for what to buy.

 

[marko]

I check every day and update every Saturday morning. . Not to do anything, but for me, a daily scan coupled to what the Dow is up to, over many years gives me a more intuitive sense of when to start paying closer attention or when to shrug things off.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

I spend some time most days looking after my focused garden of 20 companies--all perennials. I consider it good maintenance work.

If something (good/bad) is happening with them, I want to know now, not 3 months from now. I rarely act...these are long-term dividend income investments...but as the person responsible in my family of 2, it's a primary concern. It helps that I LOVE this activity and have done so for the last 30-plus years!

-BB

 

[NW-Bound]

I spend some time most days looking after my focused garden of 20 companies--all perennials. I consider it good maintenance work.

If something (good/bad) is happening with them, I want to know now, not 3 months from now. I rarely act...these are long-term dividend income investments...but as the person responsible in my family of 2, it's a primary concern. It helps that I LOVE this activity and have done so for the last 30-plus years!

-BB

Yes, I like to see what stocks of mine go up, what go down, although I don't necessarily do anything about it. Then, I try to discern any reason for the move.

I just counted 129 positions of stocks and ETFs.

I don't trade stocks much, but sell 20-30 out-of-the-money option contracts each trading day. The intention is to pocket the option premium when the options expire worthless. I often end up having to buy/sell stocks when the options end up being in-the-money.

 

[madatrub]

I look multiple times a day before I retire so that after I retire I never have to.

 

[Freedom56]

Normally it's weekly to monitor coupon payments and ensure that there are no unauthorized transfers. I have news alerts set up for the companies that issued the debt I am holding in my portfolio. If there is an event risk or accounting issue that can impact a risk of default, I normally take immediate action. However, these days I have been actively buying corporate debt so I see my portfolio daily.

 

[marko]

Yes, I like to see what stocks of mine go up, what go down, although I don't necessarily do anything about it. Then, I try to discern any reason for the move.

For me it's like a sporting event (with money on the line)! Did my team win today?

 

[W2R]

I check and record how each of my investments is doing every day the NYSE is open. I have always done this, starting back in the accumulation phase when I had almost nothing invested.

Those weeks in the ICU with severe Covid last September, was the only time I didn't do this (or anything else financial) in the past 30+ years. I couldn't because I was either passed out or otherwise completely incapable of doing this during that time. I have almost everything on autopay anyway so I didn't have to worry about bills, and all I had to do was just get well. With help and encouragement from Frank, relatives, and everyone here, I was able to do just that! (thanks again!)

When I record my investment values in my Excel spreadsheet I don't actually DO anything, like buy or sell; I just record them. I guess I just want to know how my portfolio is doing so maybe curiosity is the main reason I do it.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

I check and record how each of my investments is doing every day the NYSE is open. I have always done this, starting back in the accumulation phase when I had almost nothing invested.

I don't actually DO anything, like buy or sell; I just record the day's values in my Excel spreadsheet. I guess I just want to know how my portfolio is doing so maybe curiosity is the main reason I do it.

You are a trained scientist, if I remember correctly, so I am not surprised that you keep your investment lab records up to date!

-BB