Investment of time

[Aussiesteve]

I'm just curious to know what people's various experience are here.
How much time do people 'invest into investing' on a weekly basis? Time is money in the working world after all.
Would an hour or two a week be enough to keep an eye on a portfolio of say 15 stocks once established (as well as keep an eye out for new dangers /opportunities? Anyone care to give a breakdown of their time (how much time looking at the economy, individual stocks etc?). I am sure there are a lot of dependent factors but just broadly speaking, what's your experience?
Related but probably more variable question: how much have people spent at the bottom end of the learning curve learning the fundamentals of the stock market?
Several questions here - feel free to respond to any or all .

 

[So_Cynical]

2 hours per week to 'manage' a portfolio of 15 stocks held long term is sufficient IMO.

Looking for other opportunities, fundamental investment style stock research...minimum 1 hour per stock for a good detailed look, double that for an in depth look...putting together a 15 stock watch list that is industry or theme specific would take me 10 to 15 hours over a week or 2.

 

[Zedd]

Good thread. Interested to see others replies. My gf thinks I spend far too much time on investing given it's only a hobby relative to my income.

Depends what you count as time spent, and on what. I reckon I spend an hr+ a day reading news re: finance, economics and/or politics. Another few hrs a week looking at new investments, and then a few hours a month going in-depth either into a company's statements, or following up some new investment technique or paper I've found. And lately there's the hr a day I spend trawling ASF for thoughts and ideas, in addition to the outright procrastination.

I only spend 15mins - 1hr each day checking price movements and reading any recent announcements for my actual holdings.

So total, probably 10 - 20 hrs each week, but the majority of that is learning/keeping abreast, rather than actively investing.

 

[Sharkman]

probably about 3-4 hours a day during the week (2-3 of which will be whilst i'm in the office and supposed to be doing my "real" job , the rest will be at home either reading stuff online (including here), watching CNBC and the like. zero on the weekends. once the clock ticks over to saturday i switch my brain off both work and trading and focus on other things (like watching the game! ). i think it's important to take that mental break away from it, easier said than done though especially after weeks like the last few.

however i utilise a split portfolio strategy where part of it is core investment style holdings that i rarely touch (a couple of these i have held for over a decade) and the other part is a short term trading portfolio where i mainly use options to express a particular view i might have. so i have to spend that sort of time every day - reading and looking up stuff at home to see if any such views occur to me, then constantly peeking at the market whilst i'm at work, to monitor existing positions, adjust them if necessary, and check if conditions (MM quotes, price of underlying etc.) are satisfactory enough for me to want to trade any views i might hold that i don't have a position in. i enjoy it though, it's a constant learning experience and without it i'd be completely and utterly bored at work (unless there's some sport on!)