http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323478004578302120330630876.html <br /><br />In response to a recent article on a "Mutual Fund Madness" tournament that discussed the mistake of focusing too much on short-term performance, The Wall Street Journal asked The Experts: How should investors stop themselves from reacting to short-term market events? <br />The Experts is an exclusive group of industry and thought leaders who engage in in-depth online discussions of topics raised in this month's Investing in Funds & ETFs Report and all future Wall Street Journal Reports. <br />Also be sure to watch three of The Experts—Gus Sauter, former chief investment officer at Vanguard; Meir Statman, behavioral finance professor at Santa Clara University and Sheryl Garrett, founder of the Garrett Planning Network—answer this question and others on video in a Google+ Hangout. <br />Terrance Odean: Review Fund Performance Once a Quarter at Most <br />My advice would be to not check your funds' performance more than once a quarter. There may be exceptional circumstances that require more frequently monitoring. Personally, I review the performance of funds I hold about once a year. And I make changes far less often. <br />Terrance Odean is the Rudd Family Foundation Professor and Chair of the Finance Group at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. <br />Matt Hougan: Keep Some Mad Money in Your Portfolio <br />Everyone knows what to do. Write down your plan so it's committed to paper. Have a financial adviser so you have someone who will talk you off the edge before you sell. Only look at your portfolio on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. <br />It all sounds great—and it is—but for most people, it won't work. <br />People are human. And if you're reading The Wall Street Journal, you're interested in the markets, which means you want to react. I work for a company called IndexUniverse and even I want to react. <br />What do I do? Two things: <br />First, I keep 10% of my money to play with. Ninety percent is off-limits, and with the other 10% I can do whatever I want. Any less than that and I'm tempted to muck with the other 90%; any more than that and I'll ruin my financial future. <br /><br />Related Article: <br /><br />https://www.facebook.com/BradleyAssociatesMadridSpain <br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Yg67HDQ4c
