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CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

What is dollar-cost averaging?

There is much debate over whether dollar-cost averaging – drip feeding one’s money into the market – or investing it in a lump sum is superior. Explore what dollar-cost averaging is, its benefits, drawbacks, and more.

Image of Dollar (USD) currency Source: Bloomberg

What is dollar-cost averaging?

Dollar-cost averaging is the process of making regular contributions into an investment or investment portfolio. Common reasoning behind this is to smooth market volatility and to mitigate the risk of a sharp drawdown in one’s investment portfolio.

The term was first coined by pioneering value investor Benjamin Graham in his book The Intelligent Investor. Graham alluded to a strategy of investing the same amount of money at regular intervals into an investment.

The investor would do this by buying more shares or units when the market is low than when it’s high. They’re, therefore, likely to end up with a lower average price of the holding compared to investing in one lump sum.

Nowadays, many retail investors around the world take advantage of the dollar-cost averaging strategy by making monthly or quarterly contributions into funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), or model portfolios.

The below graph illustrates the price smoothing nature of dollar-cost averaging. Let’s assume the investor contributes $100 monthly into an ETF. By contributing regularly, despite market fluctuations, the investor can get a more favourable average cost.

This means that by the time the price returns to its original level, the investor would have profited from buying shares at a relatively lower price.

Regular ETF contributions example.
Regular ETF contributions example.

In the chart you’ll see that by the end of the year, the investor has made a profit of over $150 above their combined regular contributions.

Had the investor decided to invest their total monies ($1200) as a lump sum at the beginning of the period, they would’ve made no money by December as the ETF price is $1.00 per share again. Yet, they would’ve experienced significant volatility throughout the year.

Regular ETF contributions example.
Regular ETF contributions example.

* For explanatory purposes only – past performance isn’t indicative of future results.

What are the benefits of dollar-cost averaging?

  • No one wants to find out that they unintentionally invested a large chunk of money at the peak of the market. Dollar-cost averaging is a way of avoiding this. As illustrated in the example above, the investor who drip fed their money into the ETF profited compared to the investor who invested it as a lump sum
  • The emotional element of investing is reduced – investors may simply put investing off, especially if they believe market valuations are high. But the investor is still making regular investment contributions; hence the emotional side of investing and trying to time the market is reduced to an extent. Dollar-cost averaging, therefore, strongly encourages investor discipline

What are the disadvantages of dollar-cost averaging?

  • When markets fall, dollar-cost averaging allows you to invest at a discount (relative to the initial price). But when markets rise, the opposite happens. If markets are particularly strong and going through periods of sustained gains, the investor who drip feeds their money in will be disadvantaged and make less compared to an investor who invests in a single lump sum. Markets do tend to rise more often than not
  • Inflation has a damning effect on a dollar-cost averaging strategy and has a nasty habit of eroding monies’ purchasing power. Therefore, the real value of an investor’s cash reserves will slowly diminish over time as a result
  • Dollar-cost averaging isn’t a silver bullet. While it helps in reducing the average price you pay for your investments and removes much of the stress around trying to time the markets, the investment choices must still be sound. If an investor gradually drip feeds their money into a poor investment, the investor could still lose money. A prudent and suitable strategy must be coupled with investments with opportunities for gain

Time in the market vs timing the market

Naturally, an investor’s dream would be to always sell at market peaks to crystallise gains, and then reinvest these profits at market troughs to maximise investment growth. However, without perhaps clairvoyancy this is next to impossible to achieve. Therefore, the best way to aim for investment growth over the longer term is to simply invest over an extended period.

The below chart exemplifies why investing over the longer term and the power of compounding is critical for generating long-term returns. Both the investment portfolio and bank deposit start with an initial $10,000 outlay; with the investment portfolio returning 5% per year, and the bank deposit earning 2% interest each year.

Generating long-term returns through compounding interest.
Generating long-term returns through compounding interest.

Over a 30-year period, the difference in returns is drastic. The bank deposit would have returned just shy of $18,000 from an initial $10,000 deposit. The investment portfolio, on the other hand, would have a value of over $41,000 – well over double the amount of the final value of the bank savings.

The reason for this is the effect of compound interest, which has a snowball effect on the returns generated when applied over long periods of time. Albert Einstein eloquently referred to compound interest as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’.


This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.
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