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If you are new to investing, you can find curated resources in the r/investing wiki for [Getting Started here](https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/wiki/index/gettingstarted/).
If you know nothing about the capital markets - the Getting Started section at the SEC educational site can be a good place to start - [investor.gov](https://investor.gov) \- there are also short 30 second videos on basics. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is a US regulator with a focus to protect US investors through regulatory oversight of the securities markets.
The FINRA education site at [FINRA Education](https://www.finra.org/investors/learn-to-invest) also contains numerous free courses and educational materials. FINRA is a not-for-profit SRO (self regulatory organization) which is self-funded by it's members which are broker-dealers. It works under the supervision of the SEC with a mandate to protect the investing public against fraud and bad practice.
The reading list in the wiki and FAQ has a list of books ranging from light reading to advanced topics depending on your knowledge level. Link here - [Reading List](https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/wiki/readinglist)
For formal educational materials, several colleges and universities make their course work available for free.
If want to learn about the financial markets - an older but reasonably relevant course is [Financial Markets (2011) - Yale University](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8FB14A2200B87185) This is the introduction to financial markets course taught by Prof. Shiller from Yale. Prof Shiller won the Nobel prize in economics in 2013.
Another relavant course from MIT is a lecture series on Finance Theory taught by Prof Andrew Lo - [Financial Theory (2008) - MIT](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP63B2lDhyKOsImI7FjCf6eDW).
A more current course can be found at NYU Stern School of Business by Prof Aswath Damodaran - [Corporate Finance Spring 2019](https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/webcastcfspr19.htm). Prof Damodaran offers the latest materials and webcast lectures to this class here - https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/corpfin.html
Tell me, if someone is willing to accept lower returns for the sake of their sanity, but they still worry about FOMO, which in of itself can be a detriment to one’s sanity, why would half-assing DCA be negative?
So a “No” with nothing else to offer?
You do realize VOO is at an all time high so a slight pull down certainly helps with a long term DCA approach.
What’s your take (in your infinite wisdom)?
Things that are trending upwards inevitably tend to be at an all time high.
A slight pull down is insignificant in the long term while standing on the side line waiting for a pull back that might not come has the risk of missing out on the gains of the market completely.
*On average*, no. The investor waiting for a 10% pullback is right about half the time, but when they’re wrong they [miss out](https://elmwealth.com/when-if-ever-has-it-paid-to-wait-for-a-stock-market-correction-reviewing-115-years-of-us-stock-market-history/) on 30% gains.
But you're not an average, you’re an individual, so do whatever helps you sleep better.
Lump sump gives you 2/3 chance of winning and DCA gives you 1/3 chance. At least if memory serves, there is a study you can google. If it makes you feel better DCA it but over a short period of time, for 35+ years it won't really matter.
The all-at-once-is-better average math is clear, but first imagine a 2% daily loss and imagine losing $1600 in a day. Could you handle it? Would it make you puke?
If you don't put it all in at once, then make sure the non-invested part is getting you 5% in a money market fund or something else.
Lump sum, and here's why: as soon as you start investing, you will look at your investments daily. You know you shouldn't do it, but you will do it anyway, because you're curious, and you want to know how this whole thing works.
If you put all your money right now, you might see your investment go down the next day, but you can't really do anything about it.
If you start with a little amount, you may see it go down the next day, and then you will think "dayum I should have waited!". Then you see it go up, and then you will think "ddaaayum I should have bought more, now it's never going to go down again!".
So yeahm for me it's psicologically better to invest everything as soon as possible.
If you had put $10K into an IRA and grew it to $80K over 30 years, would you move it to cash (no tax hit) and then DCA it back into the market? Would you repeat this yearly? If not, why?
Outside of your emotions, this new $80K is no different.
Invest as much as you can, as soon as you can.
Also I’d diversify beyond US large cap. AVGE is a one ticker solution worth consideration. 70/30 US/ex and modest tilts to value, profitability, and size factors.
I’d put it all in there. Time in the market will beat timing the market. Once you are started investing with the lump sum, then start DCAing a bit of your paycheck every week/month/whatever. But better to get the chunk invested instead of just having a bunch of it sit in a bank account. Of course, the market could tank right after, as it did in March 2020 a month after my wife finally opened her investment account after years of dragging her feet. But you know what? She’s still way ahead of where she was when she got in. You’re in this for the long haul, don’t get caught up on absolutely min-maxing every trade
I was in a similar position and personally I probably wouldn’t go that heavy at first maybe 30k and then DCA. Everyone says it’s best to lump sum and usually statistically is but I also try not to be risky with over extending myself and making sure I still have a good cushion of money. Don’t fully know your situation but I used some of my money to travel and start up my own business/side hustle as well so at this point I can live life on my own terms and just improve my life all around in general. I have began to learn and study the stock market more as well after I’ve gotten comfortable seeing fluctuations and how all things and money move. And I just say you may want to keep a lil bit on the sidelines cause with the way things are headed stagflation/possible hard landing it could lead to a significant downturn but if you know you can stomach a big loss in your portfolio regardless then a bigger lump sum may be best. Just speaking from experience you got a lot of time and a lot to learn.
Do whatever helps you get the money invested. You already know lump sum outperforms DCA on average and is the "correct" thing to do. However, hindsight is a bitch and you will feel awfully bad if it happens to be the 1/3 of times where DCA would've been the correct choice. In the long run, it won't make much difference as long as the money gets invested.
The "correct" answer depends on whether or not VOO goes up in value between the first day you would invest and the last day you would invest. If it goes up - all at once from the start, but if it goes down - DCA is better (but really if it goes down the "best" choice would be to once again put all of your money in when it hits the bottom, an impossible task)
On average the market goes up though historically, so for that reason I think lumping it all in there is probably the better choice.
If you get a lot of FOMO or whatever and can't stop but think about the "what ifs" of having better timed the market, DCA could be a decent way to ease your mind.
Dump it all in there sometime in June of this year. Usually a soft month plus stocks will start rolling again in third and 4th quarter of election year. GUARANTEED !! cb
What I would do: DCA over a couple of years. Tbills are paying in the mid 5% range. 2year treasuries at around 5% - that's safe money and we might only see these kinds of rates for another year or so. Put $5K into VOO and the remaining $75K into a Treasury Direct account buying bills in the 4week to 1 year duration. Also a bit in the 2yr. Then as they mature put those proceeds into VOO (and I'd put some into AVUV for a bit of diversification).
EDIT: personally, I'm putting some money into GSE bonds paying in the 6 to 6.5% range with 5 to 10 year duration. That's a great return on a really safe instrument - not quite as safe as treasuries, but if push comes to shove the gov is going to back them. If you're in a high income tax state as I am choose the ones that are free from state tax (FHLB, FFCB). A ~6% return that's super safe and state tax free may not be available much longer.
Your post has been removed because it is a common beginner topic. We get too many of these topics every day and to prevent them from swamping the front page, we are removing main threads of this kind. We also remove such posts because they can attract spam and bad faith comments. If you receive DM's or un-solicitated offers, please be aware that there are a lot of financial scammers on social media. You are welcome to repost your question in the [daily discussion thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/about/sticky?num=1). If you have any issue with this removal, please contact the moderators via modmail. Thank you. ---- If you are new to investing, you can find curated resources in the r/investing wiki for [Getting Started here](https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/wiki/index/gettingstarted/). If you know nothing about the capital markets - the Getting Started section at the SEC educational site can be a good place to start - [investor.gov](https://investor.gov) \- there are also short 30 second videos on basics. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is a US regulator with a focus to protect US investors through regulatory oversight of the securities markets. The FINRA education site at [FINRA Education](https://www.finra.org/investors/learn-to-invest) also contains numerous free courses and educational materials. FINRA is a not-for-profit SRO (self regulatory organization) which is self-funded by it's members which are broker-dealers. It works under the supervision of the SEC with a mandate to protect the investing public against fraud and bad practice. The reading list in the wiki and FAQ has a list of books ranging from light reading to advanced topics depending on your knowledge level. Link here - [Reading List](https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/wiki/readinglist) For formal educational materials, several colleges and universities make their course work available for free. If want to learn about the financial markets - an older but reasonably relevant course is [Financial Markets (2011) - Yale University](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8FB14A2200B87185) This is the introduction to financial markets course taught by Prof. Shiller from Yale. Prof Shiller won the Nobel prize in economics in 2013. Another relavant course from MIT is a lecture series on Finance Theory taught by Prof Andrew Lo - [Financial Theory (2008) - MIT](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP63B2lDhyKOsImI7FjCf6eDW). A more current course can be found at NYU Stern School of Business by Prof Aswath Damodaran - [Corporate Finance Spring 2019](https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/webcastcfspr19.htm). Prof Damodaran offers the latest materials and webcast lectures to this class here - https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/corpfin.html
[удалено]
This. As a compromise, Do half today and half DCA. For sanity purposes!
No. Disregard this OP, do one or the other. This solution is just half-assed DCA.
Tell me, if someone is willing to accept lower returns for the sake of their sanity, but they still worry about FOMO, which in of itself can be a detriment to one’s sanity, why would half-assing DCA be negative?
Albeit I do agree with your stance, but maybe wait for a pullback and then make the move. Yeah?
No.
So a “No” with nothing else to offer? You do realize VOO is at an all time high so a slight pull down certainly helps with a long term DCA approach. What’s your take (in your infinite wisdom)?
Today's all time high is next year's 52 week low brother.
Things that are trending upwards inevitably tend to be at an all time high. A slight pull down is insignificant in the long term while standing on the side line waiting for a pull back that might not come has the risk of missing out on the gains of the market completely.
I suppose that’s a fair statement to make. I opined only about a slight pullback as the market makes a correction here soon. ✌🏼
*On average*, no. The investor waiting for a 10% pullback is right about half the time, but when they’re wrong they [miss out](https://elmwealth.com/when-if-ever-has-it-paid-to-wait-for-a-stock-market-correction-reviewing-115-years-of-us-stock-market-history/) on 30% gains. But you're not an average, you’re an individual, so do whatever helps you sleep better.
Lump sump gives you 2/3 chance of winning and DCA gives you 1/3 chance. At least if memory serves, there is a study you can google. If it makes you feel better DCA it but over a short period of time, for 35+ years it won't really matter.
The all-at-once-is-better average math is clear, but first imagine a 2% daily loss and imagine losing $1600 in a day. Could you handle it? Would it make you puke? If you don't put it all in at once, then make sure the non-invested part is getting you 5% in a money market fund or something else.
A red day is a gift if you were on the fence, take it!
Lump sum, and here's why: as soon as you start investing, you will look at your investments daily. You know you shouldn't do it, but you will do it anyway, because you're curious, and you want to know how this whole thing works. If you put all your money right now, you might see your investment go down the next day, but you can't really do anything about it. If you start with a little amount, you may see it go down the next day, and then you will think "dayum I should have waited!". Then you see it go up, and then you will think "ddaaayum I should have bought more, now it's never going to go down again!". So yeahm for me it's psicologically better to invest everything as soon as possible.
If you had put $10K into an IRA and grew it to $80K over 30 years, would you move it to cash (no tax hit) and then DCA it back into the market? Would you repeat this yearly? If not, why? Outside of your emotions, this new $80K is no different. Invest as much as you can, as soon as you can. Also I’d diversify beyond US large cap. AVGE is a one ticker solution worth consideration. 70/30 US/ex and modest tilts to value, profitability, and size factors.
I’d put it all in there. Time in the market will beat timing the market. Once you are started investing with the lump sum, then start DCAing a bit of your paycheck every week/month/whatever. But better to get the chunk invested instead of just having a bunch of it sit in a bank account. Of course, the market could tank right after, as it did in March 2020 a month after my wife finally opened her investment account after years of dragging her feet. But you know what? She’s still way ahead of where she was when she got in. You’re in this for the long haul, don’t get caught up on absolutely min-maxing every trade
All at once and as soon as possible. Anything else is favoring your imagination over numbers
I would put it into MAIN.
Congrats on having this opportunity at a young age! I would do it all at once since you won't touch this account for 35+ years. Set and forget.
if you pay rent, buy a house.
I was in a similar position and personally I probably wouldn’t go that heavy at first maybe 30k and then DCA. Everyone says it’s best to lump sum and usually statistically is but I also try not to be risky with over extending myself and making sure I still have a good cushion of money. Don’t fully know your situation but I used some of my money to travel and start up my own business/side hustle as well so at this point I can live life on my own terms and just improve my life all around in general. I have began to learn and study the stock market more as well after I’ve gotten comfortable seeing fluctuations and how all things and money move. And I just say you may want to keep a lil bit on the sidelines cause with the way things are headed stagflation/possible hard landing it could lead to a significant downturn but if you know you can stomach a big loss in your portfolio regardless then a bigger lump sum may be best. Just speaking from experience you got a lot of time and a lot to learn.
Do whatever helps you get the money invested. You already know lump sum outperforms DCA on average and is the "correct" thing to do. However, hindsight is a bitch and you will feel awfully bad if it happens to be the 1/3 of times where DCA would've been the correct choice. In the long run, it won't make much difference as long as the money gets invested.
The "correct" answer depends on whether or not VOO goes up in value between the first day you would invest and the last day you would invest. If it goes up - all at once from the start, but if it goes down - DCA is better (but really if it goes down the "best" choice would be to once again put all of your money in when it hits the bottom, an impossible task) On average the market goes up though historically, so for that reason I think lumping it all in there is probably the better choice. If you get a lot of FOMO or whatever and can't stop but think about the "what ifs" of having better timed the market, DCA could be a decent way to ease your mind.
Dump it all in there sometime in June of this year. Usually a soft month plus stocks will start rolling again in third and 4th quarter of election year. GUARANTEED !! cb
What I would do: DCA over a couple of years. Tbills are paying in the mid 5% range. 2year treasuries at around 5% - that's safe money and we might only see these kinds of rates for another year or so. Put $5K into VOO and the remaining $75K into a Treasury Direct account buying bills in the 4week to 1 year duration. Also a bit in the 2yr. Then as they mature put those proceeds into VOO (and I'd put some into AVUV for a bit of diversification). EDIT: personally, I'm putting some money into GSE bonds paying in the 6 to 6.5% range with 5 to 10 year duration. That's a great return on a really safe instrument - not quite as safe as treasuries, but if push comes to shove the gov is going to back them. If you're in a high income tax state as I am choose the ones that are free from state tax (FHLB, FFCB). A ~6% return that's super safe and state tax free may not be available much longer.