Portfolios 301: How to Monitor Your Portfolio, Part 1

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Choose wisely. There is only one correct answer to each question.

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Review your answers below to learn more.

What should you expect from your mutual funds as you're monitoring them?

That they're still meeting your investment criteria

That they're outperforming all other funds

That they're outperforming their benchmarks over every possible time period, no matter how short

That they're still meeting your investment criteria. You want your funds to meet the same investment criteria today as they did when you first bought them. If they no longer meet your criteria, do they still belong in your portfolio?

What is the danger in letting the strongest performers of your portfolio stay in there and continue performing, as opposed to regular rebalancing?

There is no danger.

It increases the overall risk level, which can magnify losses during a downturn.

It's usually the wrong investments that perform so well.

None of the above

It increases the overall risk level, which can magnify losses during a downturn. And that means you might not meet the goals for which you are investing in the first place.

If you've created an investment policy statement, you will have addressed which of these portfolio-monitoring issues?

Your target allocation for each asset class

How often to rebalance

How often to monitor

All of the above

All of the above. If you've created an investment policy statement, you will have addressed these questions and many others.

What can happen if you ignore changes that occur in your portfolio?

You may be taking on more risk than you think.

You may not meet your investment goals.

Both of the above

Neither of the above

Both of the above. Ignore changes in your portfolio and you may end up with a portfolio that's very different from the one you originally put together.

What should you do if your portfolio's returns fall short of your expected performance over a short period of time?

Panic. You're relying on this portfolio to return a certain amount each and every year.

Do nothing. It'll bounce back.

Don't panic, but do find out why your portfolio isn't meeting expectations--especially if your portfolio is suffering losses that are beyond your acceptable range.

Don't panic, but do find out why your portfolio isn't meeting expectations--especially if your portfolio is suffering losses that are beyond your acceptable range. Your portfolio should average out to your expected return figure over time, not return that exact amount each and every year. But you should find out what's driving your portfolio's performance. And if your portfolio is actually losing more money than you thought it could, you may be taking on more risk than you think.