At least quarterly and as soon as possible after notification of an update.

You should keep track of the progress of your investments and also watch for unexpected changes.

If you question something you see, such as a transaction you don’t recall or a balance you think looks off, call your advisor team. First, though, verify that the information you’re seeing is from your investments’ custodian, such as Pershing, and not just a snapshot report from a third party, such as Morningstar.

Also, remind yourself that you are a long-term investor. While it’s important to regularly review your account statements and trade confirmations, don’t monitor your accounts too frequently if you find that you get anxious. Many investments tend to experience volatility from week to week, let alone from day to day or hour to hour.

Overreacting to short-term fluctuations can disrupt long-term plans, in addition to adding transaction fees.

Learn more
It pays to pay attention to your brokerage account statements, from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the North American Securities Administrators Association and the Securities Investor Protection Corp.
It pays to understand your brokerage account statements and trade confirmations, from FINRA
How to use the Morningstar web portal, a Money Talk Video with Kyle Tetting
Seeing how your equities are balanced, a Money Talk Video with Kyle Tetting
Investment insights via Snapshot, a Money Talk Video with Tom Pappenfus
Making sense of financial news, a Money Talk Video with Art Rothschild
10 tips to keep track of your investments, from FINRA

(initially posted Jan. 29, 2020)

Send us a question for our next podcast.
Not a Landaas & Company client yet? Click here to learn more.
More information and insight from Money Talk
Money Talk Videos
Follow us on Twitter.

Landaas newsletter subscribers return to the newsletter via e-mail.