As a long-term stock investor, you should focus on the fundamental aspects of the company, its financial performance, and its operational and managerial strength.
We live in a world where a single social media post can make or break a company. Hence, the traditional buy and hold strategy where you invested and forgot about it for 5-10 years cannot apply now.
You need to be constantly updated about how the company is performing, its credit rating, and any specific developments that can influence investor or buyer sentiment.
Also, scams and defaults! Satyam Computers (India), Enron (USA), etc. are testaments to the fact that some management teams will try to achieve success at the cost of the shareholders. Needless to say, monitoring stocks is a must.
Before I share some tips to help you monitor your equity portfolio, I would like to mention that you should try to avoid tracking the market price of stocks regularly by using a portfolio tracker or calculating your gains at the end of every trading day.
This is usually a counterproductive strategy since constant tracking of stock prices can induce an emotional reaction deviating you from your long-term investment plan. This can also induce an urge to time the market to make quick profits.