How many hours/week do you spend on your investments?

[Liberty]

I'm curious to know how many hours per week the people here spend on their investments on average. This can include reading Ks and Qs, financial news, interviews, conf calls, thinking about ideas, polishing investment theses, reading this forum and posting, etc.

 

I'm also curious to know - if you want to share it - what your routine is. Have you developed a particularly effective way to do things?

 

Personally, I'd estimate that for the past 6 months I've probably spent an average of about 25-30 hours/week on my investments. Lots of reading on weekdays between 9 PM and 1 AM, and more on some weekend days. I'm probably not nearly as time-efficient as some investors (Buffett in 1 hour can probably do more than I do in a month), but I'm still learning a lot so I feel the time is well spent.

 

Update:  I guess I should have added that this is different for people who manage money for a living than for those who do something else. If you post with more details, please mention if this is your day job or not (I'll add an option to the poll).

[ericd1]

I devote 20-30 hours/week to investments. I'm semi-retired so I have a lot of time to spend on investments, which I also consider to be a lifelong hobby. I feel like I spend to much time reading what others have written versus doing my own research. That said, my limited research seems to produce decent returns. Yet I wonder if my returns would improve if i did more stock research, which is probably less than 10% of the time I spend. I feel rewarded for the time I've spent over the years.

[twacowfca]

I devote 20-30 hours/week to investments. I'm semi-retired so I have a lot of time to spend on investments, which I also consider to be a lifelong hobby. I feel like I spend to much time reading what others have written versus doing my own research. That said, my limited research seems to produce decent returns. Yet I wonder if my returns would improve if i did more stock research, which is probably less than 10% of the time I spend. I feel rewarded for the time I've spent over the years.

 

Most of the time 50+ hours per week, but this may sometimes drop to zero if I'm editing a book or involved in  a project such as scientific research or an outdoor adventure.   Investing returns before 2001 were about 20 % per annum, but this wasn't much better than the general returns in the bull market.

 

The greater time spent studying investing since 2001 has paid off with increased returns, even as the market has been flat on average.   :)

[oddballstocks]

twacowfca,

 

  Do you have a full time job in addition to the 50+ hours, or does investing pay the bills?

 

For myself I'd say probably 20+ hours a week in addition to my day job but varies by week.  I've found that the less I read about investing and the more I practice company evaluation the better I get...imagine that practice works!  That said reading about the practice is entertaining and I can't help myself!

[CONeal]

A little over 20 hours for me.  Most of the time is spent looking for new idea that would be attractive at a certain price and then just filled away.  If it reaches that price, then I just take a look at the original thesis to see if it still applies and what has changed since then.

[DCG]

I certainly don't put in as much time as the other posters so far in here. I try to invest in companies simple enough to understand where I don't feel like I need to constantly monitor them, and I don't did deep into trying to find companies I've never heard of to try to see if I can finned one with investing in.

 

In the style of Peter Lynch, much of my 'research' is done while I'm in malls, eating in restaurants, researching and reading reviews of products, shopping online, using products, etc..

[twacowfca]

twacowfca,

 

   Do you have a full time job in addition to the 50+ hours, or does investing pay the bills?

 

For myself I'd say probably 20+ hours a week in addition to my day job but varies by week.  I've found that the less I read about investing and the more I practice company evaluation the better I get...imagine that practice works!  That said reading about the practice is entertaining and I can't help myself!

 

The business does better if not micromanaged because we have a great experienced team and close alignment with extensive profit sharing, major keys to success.  :)