Pay Yourself First -- and Regularly -- Through Dollar-Cost Averaging

To remain financially responsible, everyone must pay bills on a regular basis. These bills include mortgages, utilities, car loans, and credit cards. Unfortunately, many people do not also heed the oft-quoted advice to pay themselves first.

The harsh reality these people may discover is that a steady saving and investing plan is sometimes necessary to help pursue such financial goals as paying for a wedding or new car, buying a house, and funding retirement. Financial experts disagree on the ideal way to invest in order to meet such goals, but one strategy can help you develop a systematic investing plan while potentially saving you money and easing your mind along the way. It's called dollar-cost averaging (DCA).

Periodic investment plans do not ensure a profit and do not protect against loss in declining markets. Dollar-cost averaging is a strategy that involves continuous investment in securities regardless of fluctuating price levels of such securities, and the investor should consider their financial ability to continue purchasing through periods of low price levels.

Dollar-Cost Averaging

The chart compares the performance of a $12,000 lump-sum investment in stocks to the performance of a $12,000 portfolio that was reallocated gradually from a money market investment to stocks in a dollar cost averaging strategy. Source: ChartSource®, DST Retirement Solutions, LLC, an SS&C company. For the period from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2019. Stocks are represented by the S&P 500 index. Cash is represented by the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bill 1-3 Month index. Dollar-cost averaging does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss. These plans involve continuous investment in securities regardless of price levels. You should consider your ability to continue purchases through periods of increasing or declining prices. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Index performance does not reflect the effects of investing costs and taxes. Actual results would vary from benchmarks and would likely have been lower. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. © 2020 SS&C. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited, except by permission. All rights reserved. Not responsible for any errors or omissions. (CS000138)

DCA Defined

Dollar-cost averaging is a technique often used in buying mutual funds in which investments of defined amounts are made on a regular basis. As a long-term, disciplined strategy, DCA can help you take advantage of the benefits of compounding to potentially build a sizable sum. Consider the accompanying chart, which shows the hypothetical result of investing $50 every month for 12 consecutive months at the indicated share price.

Other Long-Term Benefits of DCA

Another potential benefit of using DCA is that it ensures that your money purchases more shares when prices are low and fewer when prices are high. Over the long term, the result could be that the average cost you pay for the shares may be less than the average price. Assume you invest $50 per month in an investment for 12 months and every month the share price fluctuates a bit. You can see that your $600 total would have bought you 42.7 shares. The average price per share, as calculated by adding up the monthly prices and dividing by 12, would have been $14.25. However, the average cost that you would have actually paid, as calculated by dividing the total amount invested by the number of shares, would have been $14.05 per share. Over the years, this method could potentially save you a lot of money.

In addition, DCA can offer the psychological comfort of easing into the market gradually instead of plunging in all at once. Although DCA does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in declining markets, its systematic investing "habit" helps encourage a long-term perspective, which can be soothing for people who might otherwise avoid the short-term volatility of the riskier, but potentially more profitable, investments, such as equities.

Some Experts Say DCA Is Not the Best Strategy

Although investing a regular amount each month may be a sound way to develop a regular investing habit, some experts say that it may not be the best way to manage a financial windfall, such as an inheritance, a bonus, or even lottery winnings. A landmark study by Peter Bacon and Richard Williams, professors at Wright State University, suggested that investing such a lump sum all at once as soon as it is received reaps greater financial rewards than DCA, albeit at a higher level of risk.¹

The study tracked lump-sum vs. systematic investments over 780 different 12-month periods from 1926 through 1991. Results indicated that an investor would have fared better 64.5% of the time by investing his or her money in a lump sum. This implies that if you have a large sum of money earmarked for the stock market, it should be put to work as soon as possible. Though past performance does not guarantee future results, stocks have historically risen the most over time.

Remember, however, that markets change over time, and this study may have yielded different results in more recent years. And, while you evaluate the relevance of the study to your investing needs, also consider the following situation: If you're 65 years old and you receive a $300,000 401(k) distribution, can you afford to take a chance that the market will drop shortly after you invest your retirement proceeds? If there's a sustained market decline, two years thereafter you might discover that your $300,000 life savings would be worth only $200,000. Over time you might recover your investment, but you have to weigh the consequences of loss before choosing lump sum vs. DCA.

Regular Investing Makes Sense

While investing a lump sum at the most opportune time can potentially profit you more than if you dollar-cost average your investment, defining "opportune" is difficult for even the most seasoned experts. As a long-term strategy, you may find DCA to be more appropriate to help potentially lower your average cost per share, and allow you to feel more comfortable during uncertain markets knowing that you made sound investment decisions. Keep in mind, however, that you should consider your ability to purchase over long periods of time and your willingness to purchase through periods of low price levels.