Začínáme s investováním
How Often to Check Your Investments as a Beginner
Key takeaways
- The more often you look at your portfolio, the more short-term fluctuations you see and the greater the temptation to act unnecessarily.
- For a beginner, the ideal frequency is once a month or once a quarter.
- Reviewing your portfolio doesn't mean you have to change anything — most of the time the right answer is "do nothing."
- Watching the value of investments daily is natural at the start, but it calms down over time and stops stressing you out.
The best investment strategy is the one you can stick to. And that requires daily fluctuations not to push you into panic.
Why frequent checking is harmful
Studies repeatedly show that investors who check their portfolio daily trade more often and achieve lower returns than those who look once in a while. The reason is simple: every glance at a red number triggers an emotion. And emotion leads to selling at the wrong time. How emotions and fluctuations work is explained in what is risk and how to measure it.
What frequency we recommend
- Once a month — check that the money arrived and the purchase went through. Look at the total portfolio value. Nothing else is needed.
- Once a quarter — consider whether you want to adjust the amount of your regular investment. Compare performance with the index the fund tracks.
- Once a year — carry out "rebalancing" (restoring ratios) if you have more than one fund. Prepare documents for your tax return.
What to do when you review your portfolio
A review only makes sense if you know what you're looking for. Ask yourself: Did the money arrive? Did the purchase go through? Is the total value in line with what I put in? Don't compare portfolio value with the value from a week ago — compare it with the total you have invested over the entire period. That is the only number that reflects the real result.
What to do if the portfolio falls sharply
See the article what to do when your investment falls. Spoiler: the right answer is almost always "wait and continue regular buying."
FAQ
Is it normal for a falling portfolio to stress me out?
Completely normal. The brain perceives a loss more strongly than an equally large gain — this is called loss aversion. With each crisis you go through without selling, your resilience grows. The first year is usually the hardest.
Should I track the daily price or the total portfolio value?
Track the total value compared with what you have invested in total. That tells you whether you are in profit or at a loss. The daily price is just noise — for a long-term investor it has no informational value.
When is the right time to sell an ETF?
Selling makes sense when you are approaching the date when you actually need the money (retirement, buying a flat). Or if your financial situation changes. As a reaction to a short-term drop, selling is almost always a bad decision.