How to Manage Accounts Online

Managing accounts online

Many people understand research, diversification and tax sheltering to increase investment results. However, many investors forget to adequately track their performance once dollars are invested. Keeping on top of your portfolio is an important factor in successful investment results. Managing your portfolio and bank accounts online can help you pare down fees, stay diversified and catch news that could affect future investment decisions.

Instructions

1. 

   Sign up for online access

   Sign up for online access for each financial account. Contact each investment company and bank for details on online account management. In some cases they may have to mail initial password and login information. This may delay your ability to start immediately.

2. 

   Ask for single sign on

   Request single sign-on access if you have several accounts at any single firm. This will allow you to link with one password and log in to all of your accounts when you enter the firm's website, rather than having to separately log in for each account.

3. 

   Tour the sites

   Tour each bank and investment site to become comfortable with its features and limits. Look for graphs and charts, alerts about news surrounding your investments, and comparative tools. Helpful graphs and charts display historical expenses sorted by category (household or discretionary, for example), portfolio performance and your overall savings rate. Helpful news pages may include fee changes in your investment portfolio, product news or large investor buys/sells in a stock you hold. Good comparative tools will mark your progress against retirement, education or other goals.

4. 

   Set automatic reminders

   Set up automatic reminders, if available. Some banks will send you an email if account values dip below a specified amount. Many investment sites send messages when news occurs involving your investments. Decide how many of these you wish to use and sign up.

5. 

   Schedule time to review online accounts

   Schedule time to review your accounts weekly; this should generally be a quick 15-minute review. Check your online transaction register against expenses. Review charts and graphs of historical income and outflows. Confirm CD and savings account interest rates are optimal. Review how your variable funds (such as stocks and mutual funds) performed and check for news regarding any of your positions.

6. 

   Steamline online tools

   Explore the option of using aggregate sites. According to Newsweek, "The explosion of personal financial management sites and communities ... is helping people relate to money in new ways." Some sites, such as Mint.com and Yodlee.com, aggregate information from all of your financial accounts into a single view, regardless of financial institution.

Tips & Warnings

• Understanding fees is a large piece of investment success. Use online tools to get a handle on investment fees and charges.

• Popular financial software such as Microsoft Money and Quicken will automatically download information from your investment and banking sites so you have one interface. This eliminates learning how to use every individual site.

• If your institution's online tool set seems weak, consider changing banks or investment firms to one with robust online features to shorten the time it takes to track your financial picture.

• Be careful with passwords. Although major firms feature robust security, having good password protection will keep your accounts safe.

• Although widely available, Microsoft Money has been discontinued for new purchase. According to Microsoft, all new copies must be activated by January 31, 2011.

References

• Newsweek: Easy Money?

Resources

• Mint
• Microsoft Money
• Quicken
• Yodlee MoneyCenter