As a small investor you should always be focused on the long-term. You should work on developing your patience and discipline so that you are not panicking at every bit of bad news that comes out and therefore making emotional decisions that are probably going to hurt you more than help you.
Rather, trust that you made an investment for the right reasons and are in it for an appropriate amount of time. I use that phrase rather than a generic long-term because not everyone has the same definition for long-term in regard to every one of their investments. Not every single investment needs to be held until cashed out in retirement. There certainly may be other reasons to sell well before then.
Yet, as a small investor our time horizon needs to be substantial, otherwise you are a trader and that is definitely not my area of expertise.
That said, just because the time horizon we are looking at is significant doesn’t mean that after the investment is made that we should then ignore it. No! You should still look at it on at least a weekly basis. I personally will look at my portfolio at least every other day.
I make very few changes annually to my portfolio. However, I look at it a lot not because I want to see the daily ups and downs, but rather I want to stay attuned to any changes of information that could affect that investment.
Examples include accounting issues (HUGE Red Flag), changes in market conditions, changes in corporate strategy, and changes in company products among other things. I’ve had all of these issues to consider. A pharma company had a major drug recall, a tech company had a major new product fail, an aircraft company had a new aircraft that crashed because of their design. Those are all reasons to reconsider that investment, but you have to be paying attention.
You also have to be aware of how the company is reacting to new market conditions. A famous example is how the introduction of the automobile crushed the buggy whip/carriage/saddle industry. Those were large companies that seemed solid right until they weren’t.
Therefore, you need to pay attention to your investments! Don’t let yourself be caught off guard thinking that you never need to do anything until retirement.
As always, if you are looking for a gift for the young reader in your life, you can find some great children’s books on Amazon. Just go to these links The Desert Fairies of Oylara, The Rainforest Fairies of Oylara, and The Artic Fairies of Oylara and order them.
Additionally, check out this very cool podcast on Spotify called Gen X Dad and his Gen Z Teens. Entertaining!
Finally, check out some pretty cool music on YouTube if you have a few minutes: Introduction , Mosh, Smoke, Watch Out , and First Day Out. Enjoy!
Patient and Disciplined Saving 