I agree that ICICI Direct's portfolio is one of the best amongst most Online Brokerages, however it is only limited to your transactions done through ICICI Direct. To keep track of all aspects of your personal finance tools like ET portfolio are helpful. I hope you agree with me…

When markets are rising, Mutual Funds can start giving returns from the very next day of your investment in them. Since Jan-2008 markets have fallen significantly from its peak. Many investors who have put their money in MFs during the boom time from 2006 to early 2008 are disappointed with their returns.

However, during last 3-4 months markets have risen over 100% from its lows. It is understandable that a retail investor may not predict the market movement correctly and gets trapped in an investment he made at the wrong time. The solution to this problem is to continue investing small sums of money every month through SIP and minimize the risk of ill-timing the market. Read more about Mutual Fund SIP

Coming to your questions,

• The ideal minimum time horizon for investments in MFs is 3 to 5 years. Though, you can withdraw the money anytime (exit load on withdrawals in first year is higher). Give some time to your investment to re-coupe from the impact of Global Financial Slowdown. You can also consider investing fresh amounts in your chosen MF scheme after consulting your investment consultant.
• There are many FREE online tools available which you can use to track your investments ET Portfolio, Rediff MoneyWiz, Moneycontrol Portfolio etc. ET Portfolio is the one that I would recommend, it is the only online portfolio which is 128 bit secured and has a Tax Module built-in.