Invest it all now, or spread it out?
You have a sum to invest. Compare putting it all in today with investing equal amounts each month. Try a market fall during the investing period to see when spreading it out helps.
After the comparison period
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Lump sum todayAhead
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Invest monthlyAhead
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Value over time
Lump sum
Monthly investing
This is a simplified model: the market grows smoothly at the expected return, plus the one-off move you choose spread evenly over the investing period. Real markets are far less predictable.