When did you stop tracking your returns?

[Milu]

Likely a question for some of the wealthier folk on the board but I’m curious if you tracked your returns and CAGR etc during the earlier part of your wealth building but then when wealth got to a certain size it kind of became pointless. Obviously that number would be different for everybody depending on where they live and their lifestyle but if you are a good investor over time you will eventually get to a point where your net worth is large and whether you end up getting 5%, 10% or 20% return on that it mostly becomes meaningless. Do you still like to track it to compare yourself to others or see if you still got it, or do you now just check your net worth every now and then, and as long as it’s not dropping all is good. Maybe some people never tracked their returns, nothing wrong with that either. For me I track things quite diligently but sometimes wonder should I bother. 

[yesman182]

I track my net worth and my spending. I spend <50% of what I earn and invest the rest in real estate and investments, I have done this for several decades. I personally don't see the point in knowing the exact percentage of my investment gains year. I am unsure how I would use that information, if I didn't beat the S&P for several years, should I just move it all to an index? If I consistently beat the index or should I add leverage? I don't have interest in being fully invested in index and I don't want leverage. 

[73 Reds]

46 minutes ago, Milu said:

Likely a question for some of the wealthier folk on the board but I’m curious if you tracked your returns and CAGR etc during the earlier part of your wealth building but then when wealth got to a certain size it kind of became pointless. Obviously that number would be different for everybody depending on where they live and their lifestyle but if you are a good investor over time you will eventually get to a point where your net worth is large and whether you end up getting 5%, 10% or 20% return on that it mostly becomes meaningless. Do you still like to track it to compare yourself to others or see if you still got it, or do you now just check your net worth every now and then, and as long as it’s not dropping all is good. Maybe some people never tracked their returns, nothing wrong with that either. For me I track things quite diligently but sometimes wonder should I bother. 

Yes, when I was younger.  As I grew older periodic returns became less meaningful.  Today, most of my assets are privately held so there would be little to no point in even trying.

[Sweet]

I know roughly if I am doing better than the index but no, I don’t track my performance. Not sure why I need to know what my cagr is.

[Milu]

Thanks for answers so far, the main reason I still track is a want to see if my results over the long term have been better or worse than just dumping it all into S&P index fund. So far they have been better. But I suppose the question I’d have for myself is if they ended up being worse would i then decide to go the index fund route or not. If I’m being honest I don’t think I would as I enjoy the investing challenge and process. So the tracking of returns is just a habit really that perhaps no longer serves a purpose for me.

[Gregmal]

I have never really given this sort of thing any weight. It's basically marketing material for AUM eaters and something poor people do to give themselves "wins"/gamify a process that shouldn't be gamified. If Im OK with, and understand what I own...owning it is an active decision and playing the herky jerk game of buy/sell/buy/sell is just a distraction and waste of time. I always wondered, imagine where Musk/Bezos/Gates would be if they routinely did that sort of thing with their individual businesses and entities?

[Longnose]

I don't monitor CAGR or total return. But i once heard the phrase "money is a fickle mistress, if you don't pay attention to her she'll leave you."  While the exact % return or CAGR isn't overly important to me. I dont feel like i could ever stop "paying attention" to where my money is at and what is it doing. 

[KCLarkin]

I find the discipline of tracking long term performance AND writing an annual investment letter to myself extremely valuable. That annual discipline is even more important now that I can afford to be complacent with my portfolio.