Question

Dollar-cost averaging means that you buy equal dollar amounts of a stock every period, for example, $500 per month. The strategy is based on the idea that when the stock price is low, your fixed monthly purchase will buy more shares, and when the price is high, fewer shares. Averaging over time, you will end up buying more shares when the stock is cheaper and fewer when it is relatively expensive. Therefore, by design, you will exhibit good market timing. Evaluate this strategy.

Answer 1

Answer:

Read the explanation below

Explanation:

Dollar-cost averaging is based on the belief that prices of stock fluctuate around a normal level.  Without this notion, it will not be possible to determine what can be seen as high or low now compared to the future.

The benefits of Dollar Cost Averaging attracts investors to employ. These benefits include:

1. It contributes on a regular basis to portfolios of investment.

2. The problem of market timing is eliminated especially for investors do not have time to track the market regularly or who lack the understanding of the market.

3. The cost basis to consumers on stocks whose values decline are is reduced.

4. It is easy to set up and not expensive especially for investors with no huge amount of money to invest. Like the example in the question, it easier for a salary earner to invest $500 monthly than investing $5,000 in a day.

Despite these advantages, dollar-cost averaging has its own disadvantages, and these include:

1. It has been found out in different studies that investor that can time the market correctly and invest a lump sum amount receive a higher return in the long run than what dollar-cost averaging can fetch.

2. The transaction costs paid by the investors significantly increased because of more number of different transactions when brokerage fee is high.

I wish you the best.