Be honest.
How many times have you opened your investing app this week?
If you’re like most people, it’s probably more than you’d admit. A quick check while waiting for a coffee. Another glance after the news mentions markets dropping. Maybe one more before bed.
It feels harmless. But it’s one of the biggest things working against long-term investors.
The real challenge isn’t picking investments
A lot of people think successful investing comes down to choosing the right funds or shares.
That matters—but it’s not the hard part.
The harder part is behaviour. Specifically, how often you look at your portfolio, and how you react to what you see.
Most of us are long-term investors (whether it’s KiwiSaver, managed funds, or ETFs), but we’re interacting with our money like short-term traders.
That mismatch causes problems.
Why checking often makes investing feel worse
Here’s something most people don’t realise:
On any given day, markets are basically a coin toss. Some days up, some down.
But psychologically, losses hit harder than gains feel good. Roughly twice as hard.
So if you’re checking your portfolio regularly:
– You’ll see plenty of “down days”
– Those down days will feel disproportionately bad
– Even if your portfolio is growing over time, it won’t feel like it
You can be doing everything right and still feel like you’re losing.
That’s not you being emotional—that’s just how we’re wired.
More checking = worse outcomes
There’s a fair bit of research behind this, and it points in the same direction:
The more often people check their investments, the worse they tend to perform.
Not because the investments are worse—but because behaviour changes.
When people check often, they’re more likely to:
– Panic during downturns
– Move to “safer” options at the wrong time
– Jump in and out of the market
We’ve seen this in NZ plenty of times—especially with KiwiSaver. People switch to conservative funds after a drop, then miss the rebound.
It’s a classic case of doing something that feels right in the moment, but hurts long-term results.
Zoom out and the picture changes completely
Short-term movements are noisy. Long-term trends are what matter.
When you zoom out:
– The chances of losing money drop significantly over longer timeframes
– Staying invested matters far more than timing the market
– Consistency beats cleverness
Even investors who had terrible timing (think investing right before big downturns) still ended up in good shape over the long run—as long as they stayed invested.
Time does most of the heavy lifting.
The real issue isn’t discipline
Most advice says: “just check less often.”
In reality, that’s easier said than done.
Investment apps are designed to pull you in:
– Live balances
– Red and green colours
– Notifications and updates
It’s the same playbook used by social media—constant feedback to keep you engaged.
So this isn’t a willpower problem. It’s an environment problem.
If your portfolio is always one tap away, you’re going to look.
What actually works
Instead of trying to be more disciplined, change the setup.
A few simple adjustments go a long way:
1. Set a check-in schedule
Quarterly is plenty for most investors. Even once a year can be fine.
The key is deciding in advance.
2. Remove the app from your phone
Not silence notifications—delete it.
If you want to check, log in from a laptop. That friction is intentional.
3. Focus on what you can control
You can’t control markets.
You can control:
- How much you invest
- How regularly you invest
- Whether you stick to your plan
That’s where your attention should go.
4. Change the question
Instead of asking:
“How did my investments do today?”
Ask:
“Am I on track for where I want to be?”
That’s a much more useful question.
A simple takeaway
The biggest risk to your returns isn’t market volatility.
It’s reacting to it.
The investors who tend to do best aren’t the ones constantly watching and tweaking. They’re the ones who:
– Set a plan
– Keep investing
– And largely ignore the noise
Less checking doesn’t mean caring less.
It means setting things up so your investments can do their job—without you getting in the way.
