Dollar Cost Averaging Calculator

At Wells Fargo Advantage Funds^®, we use the term "automatic investment plan" interchangeably with the phrase "dollar-cost averaging." The concept is this: without trying to time the market, you invest a set dollar amount over time in various market conditions. It helps you escape the guessing game of how to avoid a market correction or of calculating when to "buy low and sell high."

Using this approach, purchases of the same dollar amount are invested at regular intervals (for example, monthly). Why might this be a potential benefit to investors? The following tool allows you to see how a lump sum investment and a series of monthly investments react to varying market conditions. Enter the fixed dollar amount you plan to invest monthly. The outputs will show you how your hypothetical investment would perform under three different types of market conditions:

• A fluctuating market (share prices are increasing and decreasing)
• A rising market (share prices are steadily increasing)
• A declining market (share prices are steadily declining)

A program of regular investment cannot assure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. Since such a program involves continuous investments regardless of fluctuating share values, investors should consider their financial ability to continue purchases through periods of low price levels.