Monthly Portfolio Review: Track Progress Like a Pro
Establish a disciplined monthly review routine to track performance, rebalance, and stay on track toward your financial goals.
⏱️ Time: 30-45 minutes monthly 💰 Cost: Free (wealth preservation and growth) 📱 Platform: Ape AI + Your brokerage 👤 Best for: Investors with established portfolios ($1,000+) 🦍 Recommended Companion: Money Monty (balanced portfolio analysis and recommendations)
What You'll Learn
Why monthly reviews matter (without daily checking)
Key metrics to track every month
How to calculate your returns correctly
When to rebalance (and when not to)
How to spot problems early
Portfolio review template you can use
How to use Ape AI for portfolio analysis
Why This Matters
You're here because:
📊 You have an active investment portfolio
🎯 You want to stay on track toward goals
🔍 You need a systematic review process
😰 You're unsure if you're doing well
📈 You want to optimize without obsessing
The truth: Monthly reviews keep you disciplined and informed without the anxiety of daily checking. It's the sweet spot between ignorance and obsession.
Why Monthly (Not Daily or Yearly)?
The Three Frequencies Compared
Daily Checking:
❌ Causes anxiety (60% of days are red)
❌ Leads to emotional decisions
❌ Wastes time (10-20 min/day = 60-120 hours/year)
❌ Short-term noise obscures long-term progress
Monthly Checking:
✅ Enough time to see meaningful trends
✅ Not so frequent that you panic
✅ Allows disciplined rebalancing
✅ Time-efficient (30-45 min/month = 6-9 hours/year)
✅ Keeps you engaged without obsessing
Yearly Checking:
❌ Too infrequent to catch problems
❌ Miss opportunities to rebalance
❌ May forget contribution schedule
❌ Lose touch with your investments
Optimal: Monthly review, annual deep dive.
What to Track Every Month
1. Total Portfolio Value
Current value of all holdings:
Brokerage account(s)
Retirement account(s) (401k, IRA)
Any other investment accounts
Example tracking:
What you're looking for:
General upward trend over 6-12 months
Don't panic about monthly dips (normal)
Focus on 1-year rolling performance
2. Total Contributions (Money You've Added)
Track how much you've invested:
Initial investment
Plus all monthly contributions
Minus any withdrawals
Example:
Why track this:
Separates gains from contributions
Shows your actual return performance
Keeps you accountable to contribution schedule
3. Total Gains/Losses (Performance)
Calculate your actual investment returns:
Formula:
Example:
Month-over-month comparison:
4. Asset Allocation Drift
Check if you're still at target allocation:
Target allocation (example):
70% Stocks
20% Bonds
10% Cash
Current allocation (March 31):
Drift < 5%: No action needed Drift > 5%: Consider rebalancing
5. Individual Holdings Performance
Track each position:
VOO
50
$20,000
$22,500
+$2,500
+12.5%
VXUS
60
$6,000
$6,300
+$300
+5.0%
BND
80
$4,000
$3,900
-$100
-2.5%
Apple
10
$1,750
$1,800
+$50
+2.9%
What to look for:
Which holdings are outperforming? (VOO in example)
Which are underperforming? (BND, but bonds are defensive)
Any position down 30%+ that needs review?
6. Benchmark Comparison
Compare your performance to market:
Your portfolio: +8.5% year-to-date S&P 500 (VOO): +10.2% year-to-date
Analysis:
You're underperforming by 1.7%
Reasons:
Bond allocation (defensive, lower returns)
Individual stock picks underperformed
Is this acceptable? Yes, if your allocation is appropriate for your risk tolerance
Don't chase returns by taking inappropriate risk.
7. Contribution Compliance
Did you stick to your plan?
Planned: $500/month Actual contributions:
January: $500 ✓
February: $500 ✓
March: $0 ✗ (Forgot!)
Action: Set up automatic contributions (if not already)
8. Dividends Received
Track passive income:
Verify:
Are dividends being reinvested automatically? ✓
Any unexpected dividend cuts? (red flag)
The Monthly Review Process (Step-by-Step)
Week 1: Gather Data (10 minutes)
Step 1: Log portfolio values (5 min)
Open all brokerage accounts
Note total value of each account
Record in spreadsheet or notebook
Step 2: Calculate total contributions (3 min)
Add this month's contribution to running total
Verify contribution was made (if automatic)
Step 3: Check dividends (2 min)
How much in dividends this month?
Were they reinvested?
Template:
Week 2: Analyze Performance (15 minutes)
Step 4: Calculate returns (5 min)
Month-over-month:
Last month: $34,800
This month: $35,700
Change: +$900 (+2.6%)
Year-to-date:
January 1: $28,000
March 31: $35,700
Change: +$7,700 (+27.5%)
BUT you contributed $2,500 YTD
Actual gains: $5,200 (+18.6% return on capital)
Step 5: Compare to benchmark (5 min)
Visit Yahoo Finance, check S&P 500 (^GSPC):
S&P 500 YTD: +15.2%
Your return: +18.6%
You're outperforming by 3.4%!
Ask Money Monty:
Step 6: Review individual holdings (5 min)
Identify:
Best performer: VOO (+22%)
Worst performer: BND (-2.5%)
Any surprises: Apple only +2.9% (underperformed)
Questions to ask:
Is Apple underperformance a problem? (No if short-term)
Do I still believe in my individual stock picks?
Should I adjust anything?
Week 3: Rebalancing Check (10 minutes)
Step 7: Calculate current allocation (5 min)
Target: 70% stocks, 20% bonds, 10% cash
Current:
Drift: Stocks +2.8%, Bonds -1.8%, Cash -1.0%
Decision:
Drift < 5% → No action needed (wait until >5% or annual review)
Drift > 5% → Rebalance
Step 8: Rebalance if needed (5 min)
If you needed to rebalance (this example doesn't):
To get back to 70/20/10 on $35,700:
Target stocks: $24,990
Target bonds: $7,140
Target cash: $3,570
Actions:
Sell $1,010 of stocks
Buy $640 of bonds
Add $370 to cash
Or use new contributions:
Next month's $500 → 100% to bonds
Following month's $500 → 70% bonds, 30% cash
Gradually rebalance without selling
Week 4: Plan Next Month (5-10 minutes)
Step 9: Adjust strategy if needed (5 min)
Questions:
Am I on track for my goals? (Use compound interest calculator)
Should I increase monthly contributions?
Any life changes requiring allocation shift?
Any red flags in holdings?
Example: Goal is $1M by age 65 (35 years away)
Current: $35,700
Contributing: $500/month
At 10% return: Will have $1,180,000 ✓ On track!
Step 10: Set reminders and calendar (5 min)
Schedule next month's review (first Saturday of month)
Set reminder to verify auto-contribution executed
Note any upcoming actions:
Quarterly rebalance (if different from monthly)
Tax-loss harvesting window (November-December)
Annual review (January)
Using Ape AI for Portfolio Analysis
Monthly Portfolio Review with Money
Ask Money Monty to analyze your entire portfolio:
Money Monty will provide:
Allocation analysis (drift from target)
Performance assessment
Rebalancing recommendations
Risk evaluation for your age
Suggestions for improvement
Individual Stock Performance Analysis
If concerned about specific holding:
Money Monty will:
Provide context (tech sector performance, Apple-specific news)
Evaluate fundamentals (still strong company?)
Recommend hold/sell decision
Explain reasoning
Benchmark Comparison
Money Monty will:
Analyze your holdings vs S&P 500
Identify sources of outperformance
Assess if it's skill, luck, or higher risk
Provide realistic expectations going forward
Red Flags to Watch For
🚩 Red Flag #1: Consistent Underperformance
What to look for:
Your portfolio underperforms S&P 500 by 5%+ for 12+ months
Example: S&P up 20%, you're up 10% (with similar risk)
Possible causes:
Poor stock picks
Too much in cash (drag on returns)
High fees
Bad timing decisions
Action:
Ask Money Monty to diagnose the issue
Consider simplifying to index funds
Check fees (switch to lower-cost funds if high)
🚩 Red Flag #2: Not Sticking to Contribution Schedule
What to look for:
Missed 2+ months of planned contributions
Inconsistent investing
Why it matters:
Dollar-cost averaging requires consistency
Compound interest only works if you keep adding
Discipline is #1 predictor of success
Action:
Set up automatic contributions (remove human error)
Review budget (is contribution amount too aggressive?)
Re-commit to plan
🚩 Red Flag #3: Excessive Allocation Drift
What to look for:
Allocation drifted 10%+ from target
Example: Target 70% stocks, currently 85% stocks
Why it matters:
Taking on more risk than planned
Could get crushed in bear market
Not maintaining discipline
Action:
Rebalance immediately (sell winners, buy losers)
Set quarterly rebalance calendar reminder
🚩 Red Flag #4: Single Stock > 20% of Portfolio
What to look for:
One holding has grown to 20-30% of portfolio
Concentration risk
Example:
Apple was 5% of portfolio
Grew to 25% due to massive gains
Now you have concentrated risk
Action:
Trim position back to 5-10% max
Reinvest proceeds into diversified holdings
Lock in some gains
🚩 Red Flag #5: Chasing Performance
What to look for:
Selling long-term holds to buy hot stocks
Frequent strategy changes
Adding new holdings every month
Example:
Sold VOO to buy AI stocks after they surged 50%
Bought crypto after it doubled
Constantly chasing last year's winners
Action:
Return to investment policy statement
Stick to original strategy
Remember: Past performance ≠ future results
Portfolio Review Template
Copy and Use This Template Monthly
Success Checklist
I'm performing monthly reviews:
✅ I review my portfolio on the same day each month
✅ I track total value, contributions, and gains
✅ I calculate my actual returns (not just portfolio value)
✅ I compare to benchmark (S&P 500)
✅ I check for allocation drift
✅ I review individual holdings performance
I'm taking appropriate actions:
✅ I rebalance when drift exceeds 5%
✅ I stick to my contribution schedule
✅ I don't panic during monthly dips
✅ I ask Money for analysis when uncertain
✅ I document my review (use template)
I maintain discipline:
✅ I don't check daily (only monthly)
✅ I don't make emotional decisions
✅ I follow my investment policy statement
✅ I focus on long-term trends, not monthly noise
What's Next?
Advanced Portfolio Management
Optimize your strategy:
Continue learning:
The Bottom Line
Monthly portfolio reviews:
✅ Keep you informed without causing anxiety
✅ Ensure you stay on track toward goals
✅ Catch problems early (before they become catastrophic)
✅ Maintain discipline (stick to plan)
✅ Only take 30-45 minutes per month
Key metrics:
Total value (how much you have)
Total contributions (how much you've added)
Total gains (actual returns)
Allocation drift (still at target?)
Benchmark comparison (beating market?)
Remember:
Monthly dips are normal (don't panic)
Focus on 1-year rolling performance
Compare to appropriate benchmark
Rebalance when drift > 5%
Use Ape AI for analysis and advice
Set a calendar reminder for the first Saturday of every month. Stick to it for decades. This simple habit is worth millions.
You've got this. 🚀
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