Automating Monthly Investments

Large swings in investment values may make headlines, but trying to predict market volatility is generally not a successful strategy. Instead, a slow-and-steady investing approach may seem boring, but it can help you capitalize on market fluctuations as you work toward long-term financial goals. Dollar-cost averaging* can be part of this strategy.

Disciplined Investing

Dollar-cost averaging is as much about discipline as it is an investing technique. When you use dollar-cost averaging, you invest the same amount in the same investments at regular intervals. For example, you might contribute $100 twice a month to your retirement account, allocating $50 to equity investments and $50 to fixed income. If each share costs, say, $1, then you would buy 50 shares of one asset and 50 of the other.

Dollar-cost averaging means regularly investing a set amount of money into the same investments on a consistent schedule.

Buying the same dollar amount of any investment doesn't, however, mean you are buying the same number of shares each time. When stock prices go up, you get fewer shares for your $50. So, if stock prices double to $2 per share, you would buy 25 shares. And if fixed income shares declined to 75 cents a share, your $50 would buy almost 67 shares. In other words, you buy more securities when prices decline and fewer when prices increase.

Emotionless Investing

Why does this matter? If you were making investment decisions daily, it might be easy to be influenced by current market trends rather than future ones. Consequently, some investors tend to make decisions after the fact, buying when prices are high and selling when they're low. Dollar-cost averaging removes emotion from investing, helping you stay consistent in your approach despite short-term ups and downs and focus on long-term goals.

* Investing regular amounts steadily over time (dollar-cost averaging) may lower your average per-share cost, but this investment method will not guarantee a profit or protect you from a loss in declining markets. Effectiveness requires continuous investment, regardless of fluctuating prices. You should consider your ability to continue buying through periods of low prices.