Investing is one of the most effective ways to build a nest egg for retirement or other long-term financial goals. Stocks, treasury bonds, mutual funds, startups, and other investments offer the potential for growth over time. However, you can’t simply make a single investment and forget about it. To ensure your investments are performing as expected, you need to stay on top of their performance. This way, you can make necessary adjustments to maximize your return and reduce any risks. 

Here are some tips for monitoring your investments.

Know Your Baseline Value

The first step in monitoring your investments is to determine their baseline value or the starting point from which you will measure future performance. This typically means tracking the purchase price, dividends paid out, any capital gains or losses realized, and the current market value of each stock or fund you own. This baseline will give you a good indication of how your investments are performing over time.

Say you purchased 100 shares of stock at $50 a share. Once you’ve established that your baseline value is $5000 ($50 x 100 shares), you can track how the stock’s price changes over time and compare it to the original purchase price.

Keep an Eye on Market Conditions

You need to understand the market conditions that can affect your investments. These include economic indicators such as GDP growth and unemployment rates, corporate earnings reports from individual companies, and political news from around the world. By staying up-to-date with market conditions, you’ll have a better understanding of the performance of your investments.

For example,  if you’ve invested in the tech sector and there’s news of a new, game-changing product being developed by one of the companies in that sector, it could potentially help your investments soar. Conversely, if there are economic downturns or geopolitical unrest around the world, your investments could suffer. 

Set Up Alerts for Key Performance Indicators

You can set up alerts for key performance indicators (KPIs) for your investments. For example, if you are tracking stocks of certain companies, you can set alerts for when those stock prices reach a certain level, or when their earnings reports come out and affect the stock price. 

This way, you won’t have to constantly check on your investments; instead, the alert will tell you when it’s time to take action.

Network With Other Investors

Finally, it’s a good idea to network with other investors in your area. By bouncing ideas off of each other and sharing your experiences, you can gain valuable insights into the markets and stay on top of trends that could potentially affect your investments. For example, if you have investments in the construction industry, information on construction safety in the winter months may be relevant and could help you decide when to make any necessary changes.

You can even learn new strategies for evaluating stocks or funds, as well as tips on when to buy or sell. 

Monitoring your investments is vital for helping them reach their full potential. By knowing your baseline value, staying on top of market conditions, setting up alerts for key performance indicators, and networking with other investors, you can stay informed about how your investments are performing and make the necessary adjustments to maximize your returns.