Sat Mar 15 2025, by Tyler Gardner

Should You Invest All at Once or Little by Little? Key Insights

If you have $1,000 to invest, and you want to know whether to invest it all at once or a little at a time, here are the three things you need to know.

1. Lump Sum Investing Advantage

If you invest it all at once—known as lump sum investing—a recent Vanguard study found that this strategy has outperformed investing gradually 68% of the time.

2. Dollar Cost Averaging Benefits

If you opt for investing little by little, known as dollar cost averaging, this strategy has outperformed having your money sit in cash 69% of the time.

3. Performance vs. Cash

And remember, if you invest it all at once, lump sum investing has outperformed cash 70% of the time.

4. Emotions vs. Numbers

But the numbers might tell one story while our emotions tell another. We don’t always act in our best interest. If you know you sleep better at night hedging your bets to avoid one big loss, then dollar cost averaging might be better for you.

5. Cash Is Not King

If you’re someone who doesn’t want to invest at all, then you can continue to call your cash king. But remember, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

If any of this is helpful, please like and follow, and I’ll keep trying to get you one step closer to where you need to be.

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