Financial Planner

Weekend Checklist: Portfolio Review

Things to do this weekend with your money:

Once or twice a year it’s important to review your mutual fund investments and make any needed adjustments. Dig out the special business section “Midyear Outlook and Fund Review” that appeared in Tuesday’s paper as a guide for your portfolio review.

Today: Review your funds’ performance

Check how your mutual funds did against their peers in the second quarter, year-to-date and over the last three years. Make a note of any funds that seem to consistently lag in their category. You can look for better-performing funds to replace them or simply make a note to check back on the laggards at year-end and make a decision then.

Saturday: Review your mix of funds

Check your asset allocation to make sure you’re still on track for your goals. Funds that perform well can skew your mix of big-company stocks, small-company stocks, international stocks, bonds and cash. You may need to sell some winners to re-balance your portfolio or add new funds if you don’t have exposure to certain categories. Investors who avoided small-company and foreign funds, for example, would have missed last quarter’s upturn in those sectors. The stories included in Tuesday’s special section can tell you more about why asset allocation is important.

Sunday: Take action

Call your brokerage or mutual fund company and make any needed changes in your portfolio. Your orders will be executed the next day.