The simple strategy that works
Most new investors try to time the market — buy when prices are low and sell when they are high. In practice it is almost impossible to do consistently over time.
Dollar cost averaging — DCA — is the opposite of market timing. You invest a fixed amount at fixed intervals — regardless of what the market does.
"Consistency is not sexy — but it is what builds great things over time."— Florence Scovel Shinn
How does it work?
January
Price 280 NOK · Buy for 2,000 NOK · Get 7.14 shares
February
Price 240 NOK (fell) · Buy for 2,000 NOK · Get 8.33 shares — more because price is lower!
March
Price 310 NOK (rose) · Buy for 2,000 NOK · Get 6.45 shares
The magic: When price is low you get more shares. When price is high you get fewer. Over time you automatically buy more when it is cheap.
Long-term calculation
After 10 years
Invested: 240,000 NOK · Value: ~347,000 NOK
After 20 years
Invested: 480,000 NOK · Value: ~1,174,000 NOK
After 30 years
Invested: 720,000 NOK · Value: ~2,944,000 NOK
The key: It is not how much you invest at once — it is how consistently you invest over time.
How to set up DCA
- Open a share savings account (ASK)
- Choose a global index fund with low fees
- Set up automatic monthly savings — 500, 1,000 or 2,000 NOK
- Forget about it and let the money grow
"Steady effort over time always surpasses sporadic brilliance. It is the quiet triumph of discipline."— Florence Scovel Shinn