with dollar cost averaging, is it better to buy on a schedule of weekly, monthly, or quarterly?

Question

I'm thinking long term. I wouldn't be selling any stock within 4 years of buying on a dollar cost averaging system.

Answer 1

It depends on how much you have to invest. If you are buying stocks, you have to factor in the trading fees. Weekly could get VERY expensive unless you are investing thousands which I doubt is the case or you wouldn't be asking this question. So, with stocks you will probably be best off buying quarterly.

If you are buying no load, no transaction fee mutual funds, then as long as you have enough to invest the funds minimum investment, you could go weekly but I imagine monthly will probably be more realistic with your budget. (the budget I am guessing you have based on the question)

Answer 2

weekly i think would be best, but in any case to get full benefit of dollar cost averaging you are suppose to buy using the same dollar amount for each purchase.pick an amount that you are comfortable with.dollar cost averaging is a great stragedy for someone in their 20's and 30's.but in any event remember that investing is always a gamble. if you had 12,000 in January and the market went up all year you would be better off investing all the 12,000 in January. But if stocks steadily dropped in value all year you would have been better off dollar cost averaging 1,000 a month for 12 months because you would be buying shares for cheaper and cheaper as stock prices fell month by month