Setting a Review Cadence
Checking prices daily creates anxiety without information. A fixed review schedule replaces constant monitoring with deliberate examination.
Why this matters for beginners
Frequency of checking is one of the strongest predictors of poor decisions, because short-term price movement is mostly noise.
Main explanation
Company results arrive quarterly or half-yearly. Reviewing your holdings on that schedule matches the pace at which new information actually appears.
A review compares results with the expectations in your note: growth, margins, cash conversion, share count and debt.
Separate portfolio review from holding review. Portfolio review checks weights and overlap; holding review checks whether each thesis still holds.
Between reviews, the only events worth reacting to are ones that contradict the thesis, not ones that move the price.
Example using a real company
A quarterly review comparing revenue growth and gross margin with your written expectations takes about twenty minutes per holding.
- →Quarterly: compare results against the expectations in your note.
- →Annually: review portfolio weights, overlap and rebalancing needs.
Common beginner mistakes
- ✕Checking prices daily and calling it research.
- ✕Reviewing only when a price falls.
- ✕Reacting to news that does not affect the thesis.
Key terms
- Review cadence
- The fixed schedule on which holdings are examined.
- Noise
- Price movement carrying no information about the business.
- Thesis check
- Comparing results against written expectations.
Key takeaways
- 01Match your review schedule to reporting, not to price moves.
- 02Review the thesis, not the quote.
- 03Keep portfolio review separate from holding review.
Check yourself
- 01Reviewing holdings on the reporting schedule matches when new information arrives.
- 02Checking prices daily improves investment decisions.
- 03A review should compare results against written expectations.
Try the concept on a real company
Re-run a company you already studied in the Analyzer and compare the current picture with what you noted before.
Educational examples only. Not buy or sell recommendations.