There was a time when stock market investing was a process shrouded in mystery and submerged in complexity. Regular people interested in investing some money in publicly traded companies were required to seek the often pricey services of a professional stock market broker or trader that would assume complete control of the money and portfolio. Once a quarter, people would wait anxiously for details about whether their investments had earned them any money, but this isn’t the case anymore. Now people are taking control of their own portfolios thanks to online brokerage sites, and that means that choosing a company to invest in is only the beginning.

Many new investors might be confused when it comes to discussing the best way to monitor stock market performance, but it’s important to note that with a little practice, they can maintain a good idea of whether their portfolios are headed in the right direction, despite the adversity of the current market place. First, it’s important to have well established monthly, quarterly, or yearly goals for your portfolio.

Even if your portfolio is largely diversified, meaning that you have money invested in both long and short term ventures, spread across a variety of different industries, it’s important that all of them are working together to help you reach your financial goals. Stock market performance can be considered to be generally positive when, at the end of the predetermined period, the overall result is an increase in value for the portfolio as a whole. It’s important to note that there are several different ways that you can determine this, and you should choose the method that makes the most sense for your investments.

Those that are short term investors or even day traders will be want to evaluate their portfolio’s stock market performance by monitoring the daily price fluctuations, and note whether the market price is increasing, falling downward to a lower value, or holding steady between strong lines of support and resistance. More conservative or long term investors will instead want to monitor the long term trends exhibited by the stock’s value, as well as its potential for providing a steady income from dividends in the future. These evaluations are much more for the big picture, and are less concerned with daily price fluctuations and opportunities for profitable sale.