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How often do you check your portfolio and the markets—and why?

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AUTHOR: Jonathan Clements on 8/17/2021
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Chuck BV
1 year ago

Look for the heck of it? Once a week to once a month. Rebalance my passive, index-based, 60/40 portfolio? Once a quarter. Anything less is sloppy and potentially costly in the long run; anything more risks being led into “rebalancing” based on fear and greed reactions to market noise.

Bruce Keller
1 year ago

I track my portfolio and the market daily. People say I’m crazy, but it gives me the largest sample size of interactions with how the market behaves and I’ve learned a TON. I don’t panic easily, so I’m probably an outlier here. The most useful times to watch are the periods when the market is the most volatile.

corrupt
2 years ago

Pretty much daily, but more as a hobby (testing technical analysis and formulas) than anything serious like frequently trading.

Edmund Marsh
2 years ago

In a rising market, I check my account totals weekly, just for the fun of it. I like to see something grow, be it a plant or portfolio. In a falling market, not so much, except to monitor the need to rebalance. I glance at the indices and my funds a couple of times daily, for no good reason, other than to keep up with the general trend. I’m still working, and not planning to do anything more than make regular deposits into my funds, and rebalance occasionally.

John Yeigh
3 years ago

I check the status of the overall market a couple of times daily. I check our two active accounts weekly – a bit more when I reset any expired covered-call options mid month and less when traveling. We check two other accounts maybe quarterly – these are fully invested in index funds and in “set-it & forget-it” autopilot mode. Based on comments below, I should probably check these autopilot accounts more frequently.

Stanley Kwak
3 years ago

I check almost everyday through my Personal Capital account. Often it is a quick review during my morning routine. Sometimes my daily review drags on as I linger over some curiosity. I see my daily review habit deemed counterproductive in personal finance blogs and podcasts very often. However, my daily review is super low touch as I do not tinker with our assets often. Truthfully, I worry about them surprisingly little since I am comfortable that our financial plans, while clearly imperfect, are directional correct.

William Dorner
3 years ago

I do worry these days about hacking, so far 2 times credit card hacks and one major bank error, but this is over 50 years. I check Quicken daily, so that is automatic, quick look at bank accounts and credit cards. Then I check Vanguard every so often. Trade infrequently, but like to watch the stocks via Yahoo Finance, via a great app.

Chris Wieser
3 years ago

Similar to everyone else who responded, I check most days, even though I trade infrequently. I check credit cards as well. I am concerned about hacking.

Bob Drake
3 years ago

I input my IRA and taxable investment accounts into my “liquid net worth” spreadsheet(ex home and personal assets) almost every day – takes less than five minutes. Why? Helps me maintain focus on my financial plan – sort of like stepping on the scale each morning to keep weight in check by monitoring frequently. Comment by others on cyber theft is something that I increasingly think about for my plan. Should I split my two IRA accounts, two Roth IRA and two taxable accounts into a third administrator as additional insurance on cyber mischief?

Richard L
3 years ago

I track my portfolio in M* Portfolio Manager and usually check it daily.
There isn’t a good reason to do this since I rarely execute any trades.

Arpe Gio
3 years ago

Don’t need to check the markets, my iPhone does that for me in real time. But seriously looking at it? When my stock Funds report dividends and at tax time to verify whether any realignment is warranted or necessary. But since I subscribe to John Bogle’s investment philosophy hardly ever. I don’t depend on my investments for income as I have a generous pension plan that generates the income and provides for additional investments, hobbies, and gifts mainly to family.

kristinehayes2014
3 years ago

I have the “Mint” app which I use to keep track of all my financial information. I typically log in each morning to make sure I don’t have any fraudulent charges on my credit card and that my bank accounts haven’t been hacked. My retirement accounts are also included in the app–they are at the bottom of the page when I log in. I’ve come to realize that if the stock market has been doing well, I’ll take a peek at the account balance to see how much its grown. If I know the stock market hasn’t been so kind, I usually avoid looking.

Ben Rodriguez
3 years ago

Sadly, I do look at the markets’ performance daily. There’s no good reason, just curiosity or addiction. I check our accounts pretty regularly too.

tshort
2 years ago
Reply to  Ben Rodriguez

Or as I like to say. “Why? Because I can.” 😉

Nicholas Clements
3 years ago

Probably 3-4 times a week, just to make sure it’s all still there.

Andrew Forsythe
3 years ago

With the stock market statuses constantly appearing in the corner of the screen on cable news, it’s hard not to know what’s going on there.

Because I know what percentage of our investments are in stocks, and our stocks are mainly broad index funds and ETFs, it’s easy to figure in my head about what our portfolio has done today and so need to check so often.

R Quinn
3 years ago

Every day, sometimes several times a day. Why I don’t know as I don’t trade. I need help😎

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