09-15-2014, 11:45 PM
Seeking Alpha author "Investing 501" had a very interesting post today entitled "Checking Stock Quotes Regularly Is A Waste Of Time". It was a thought-provoking article about what gain comes from watching stock prices like a hawk. See it here.
I had to ruminate on that for most of the day and reflect on my habits. I still think I need to re-read it to refine my actions.
I admit, once I get into the office, I log into my Yahoo! account and leave my portfolio up on the screen in a window while working. It's not like I'm at my desk for the entire day. Usually I'm gone within the first hour and frequently don't return until late in the afternoon. Mostly I'm looking for big changes in a holding's price that is much larger than the market up or down. Then I'll search for some news to find a reason why. I sometimes like to read the syndicated articles linked on the portfolio pages. In the morning before heading to work, if there's time, I check out the SA headlines, here and also Marketwatch's page.
Now, what I don't do is update my portfolio spreadsheet daily any more. I usually will update it after a couple dividend reinvestments, I have cash waiting to put into the market or I see a dividend increase so that when I do give it more than a cursory look, the information is closer to current values. The humorous part is that, whilst updating less frequently, the prices are often very near to where they were the last time I updated it unless there's been some sustained up or down move.
I'm beginning to wonder if that is too much. After all, most of the companies I hold I plan on holding for a long time through the ups and downs. Yet I'm concerned about missing some detrimental news that could affect the income stream I've been working on for the past 5 years. On the flip side, if I have cash available, I hate to miss a decent entry point because of Mr. Market's psychotic mood swings every once in a while.
One of the habits I think I'm going to try to change is to put an annual report, 10K/10Q or presentation on the screen at work rather than my portfolio. I imagine it's going to be tough not to peek.
So the question is, what do you look at on a frequent basis and how often do you update your portfolio spreadsheet if you have one?
I had to ruminate on that for most of the day and reflect on my habits. I still think I need to re-read it to refine my actions.
I admit, once I get into the office, I log into my Yahoo! account and leave my portfolio up on the screen in a window while working. It's not like I'm at my desk for the entire day. Usually I'm gone within the first hour and frequently don't return until late in the afternoon. Mostly I'm looking for big changes in a holding's price that is much larger than the market up or down. Then I'll search for some news to find a reason why. I sometimes like to read the syndicated articles linked on the portfolio pages. In the morning before heading to work, if there's time, I check out the SA headlines, here and also Marketwatch's page.
Now, what I don't do is update my portfolio spreadsheet daily any more. I usually will update it after a couple dividend reinvestments, I have cash waiting to put into the market or I see a dividend increase so that when I do give it more than a cursory look, the information is closer to current values. The humorous part is that, whilst updating less frequently, the prices are often very near to where they were the last time I updated it unless there's been some sustained up or down move.
I'm beginning to wonder if that is too much. After all, most of the companies I hold I plan on holding for a long time through the ups and downs. Yet I'm concerned about missing some detrimental news that could affect the income stream I've been working on for the past 5 years. On the flip side, if I have cash available, I hate to miss a decent entry point because of Mr. Market's psychotic mood swings every once in a while.
One of the habits I think I'm going to try to change is to put an annual report, 10K/10Q or presentation on the screen at work rather than my portfolio. I imagine it's going to be tough not to peek.
So the question is, what do you look at on a frequent basis and how often do you update your portfolio spreadsheet if you have one?
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“While the dividend itself is merely a rearrangement of equity, over time it's more like owning an apple tree. The tree grows the apples back again and again and again, and the theoretical value of the tree doesn't change just because of when the apples are about to fall.” - earthtodan
“While the dividend itself is merely a rearrangement of equity, over time it's more like owning an apple tree. The tree grows the apples back again and again and again, and the theoretical value of the tree doesn't change just because of when the apples are about to fall.” - earthtodan