A self-possessed adult woman in a clean, high-end editorial setting for Dollar-Cost Averaging.

19 / 25 · Dollar-Cost Averaging

She does not know next month’s price. She knows the process she will follow before it arrives.

Dollar-cost averaging means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals. It changes the average price paid; it does not tell you whether prices will rise, fall or recover.

The lesson

€1,200 buys 12 shares all at once—or 17.3 shares on this path.

In this selected illustration, €400 is invested at €100, €75 and €50. The schedule buys 4 shares, then 5.33, then 8: 17.33 shares in total at an average cost of €69.23.

If the price later returns to €100, those shares are worth €1,733, versus €1,200 for €1,200 invested at the first €100 price. That is a consequence of this falling-and-recovering path, not proof that DCA always wins.

If prices rise while cash waits, investing the full amount earlier can produce the higher result. The honest value of a schedule is behavioural: it can make execution less dependent on emotion and headlines.

€1,200SCHEDULED

€69.23AVERAGE COST

17.3SHARES OWNED

Make the schedule visible

Change the amount and selected price path.

This is a falling-and-recovering thought experiment. It reveals purchase mechanics only; it does not predict a market path or compare every possible implementation.

See the curve

A falling-and-recovering path
rewards the schedule.

Total value through a selected price path; scheduled capital remains cash until each purchase.

Scheduled purchases + cashAll invested at first price

A falling-and-recovering path rewards the schedule.
ILLUSTRATIVE PRICE PATH	Scheduled purchases + cash	All invested at first price
Buy 1 · €100	1200	1200
Buy 2 · €75	1100	900
Buy 3 · €50	867	600
Price returns · €100	1733	1200

Amount each purchase

First price

Last scheduled price

Scheduled purchases

Shares purchased

Average cost per share

Value if price returns to first price

Continue with any AI assistant

Understand dollar-cost averaging honestly

Help me understand dollar-cost averaging as a scheduling method, not a market-timing edge. Ask whether cash is already available or arrives over time, my horizon, emergency savings, debt, tax jurisdiction, fees and behavioural constraints. Explain the trade-off between lump-sum exposure and scheduled purchases without recommending securities.

Assumptions

The selected price path moves linearly from the first price to the last scheduled price, then returns to the first price.
Uninvested cash is held flat; cash yield, fees, tax and spread are excluded.
The model does not claim that a falling path, recovery or any result is likely.