Investing glossary
DCA (dollar-cost averaging)
DCA (dollar-cost averaging, or periodic investing) means investing a fixed amount regularly — for example, every month — instead of investing all your capital at once.
By always buying the same amount in euros, you buy more units when the price falls and fewer when it rises, which smooths out your average purchase price.
Statistically, investing everything at once beats DCA in roughly 2 out of 3 historical periods, because the money spends more time invested in a market that rises more years than it falls. Even so, DCA is the natural way to invest when you contribute from your paycheck month by month, and it reduces the emotional risk of investing right before a drop.