Monthly Portfolio Review

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:

January 1, 2024: $25,000
February 1, 2024: $26,200 (+4.8%)
March 1, 2024: $25,800 (-1.5%)
April 1, 2024: $27,500 (+6.6%)

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:

Starting (Jan 1): $20,000
+ Jan contribution: $500
+ Feb contribution: $500
+ Mar contribution: $500
Total contributed through March: $21,500

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:

Total Gains = Portfolio Value - Total Contributions

Example:

Portfolio value (March 31): $27,500
Total contributed: $21,500
Total gains: $6,000 (+27.9% return)

Month-over-month comparison:

February: $5,200 gain (+24.8%)
March: $6,000 gain (+27.9%)
Improvement: +$800 (+3.1%)

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):

Stocks: $20,000 (72.7%) ← Drifted +2.7%
Bonds: $5,000 (18.2%) ← Drifted -1.8%
Cash: $2,500 (9.1%) ← Drifted -0.9%

Drift < 5%: No action needed Drift > 5%: Consider rebalancing

5. Individual Holdings Performance

Track each position:

Holding	Shares	Cost Basis	Current Value	Gain/Loss	% Return
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:

January dividends: $42
February dividends: $38
March dividends: $125 (quarterly dividends paid)
YTD total: $205
Annualized estimate: $820/year (3.0% yield on $27,500)

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:

March 2024 Portfolio Snapshot

Accounts:
- Fidelity Brokerage: $27,500
- Roth IRA: $8,200
Total: $35,700

Contributions:
- Previous total: $30,000
- March contribution: $500
- New total: $30,500

Gains:
- Portfolio value: $35,700
- Contributions: $30,500
- Total gains: $5,200 (+17.0%)

Dividends this month: $125

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:

Money, my portfolio returned +18.6% YTD while S&P 500
returned +15.2%. I'm outperforming by 3.4%. Is this luck
or is my strategy working?

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:

Stocks: $26,000 / $35,700 = 72.8%
Bonds: $6,500 / $35,700 = 18.2%
Cash: $3,200 / $35,700 = 9.0%

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