One of the biggest challenges with investing is deciding how much time to allocate to your investment portfolio.

Should you check your positions daily? Or is a weekly, monthly or yearly check-up a better fit?

Personally, I balance the need for checking in regularly with my investments with the risk of “over-trading” or devoting too much of your time and life to particular stocks, ETFs or investments.

The risk of excessive checking of your portfolio is that you’ll misallocate resources and over-trade in times of difficulty. Psychologically this can be problematic, and one thing I find challenging about investing apps is they are always there, siren-calling you to trade or look over if the latest fund challenge has settled.

Indeed that is one reason I generally limit my app usage to desktop and tablet devices, as otherwise checking on the performance of your portfolio can become a painful exercise.

In particular, it is difficult to handle the use of “red” to signify losses as the brain tells yourself that you are in danger or gets worried how far this loss might fall to.

This can be particularly challenging when you’re going through some sort of market shock or crisis, as was epitomised during Covid when the enormous losses of particular funds was a tough pill to swallow for many.

I tend to check my long-term investments anywhere between every one to six months, making sure to stay invested in funds with solid performance records, good management teams and which I feel psychologically comfortable staying with.

Ultimately, investing is a personal journey and it is about what brings you the greatest personal fulfilment and sense of harmony.