Better than dollar-cost averaging

When I launched my dollar-cost averaging bot in 2020, I was firmly convinced that DCA was the only strategy a retail investor needed to do great in the market. However, users quickly started asking me for various features going beyond this approach.

I want to DCA more when RSI is below 30.

I want to start averaging when the price drops 20%.

I want to buy only when the price is below the 200-day moving average.

I want to buy only on Monday.

I started doing tests, and those strategies didn’t seem to give significantly better results. So, as an idealist, instead of implementing them, I started talking users out of those ideas.

Five years later, we humbly implement all of them.

The business part of the explanation is obvious: get your ego out of the way, and do what users want. But there is also my honest change in the understanding of the topic. I will try to explain with an analogy:

What is the most effective exercise to lose weight? Here’s what Grok says:

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with sprint intervals is the most effective single exercise for burning calories. Short bursts of all-out sprinting (e.g., 20 seconds) followed by brief rest periods (e.g., 10 seconds) repeated for 15-20 minutes can burn 200-400 calories, depending on intensity and body weight, while boosting metabolism for hours post-workout.

Great.

So, if somebody says: “I lose weight by lifting weights,” should I tell the person that they picked the wrong exercise? “Man, you’re wasting your time! It’s scientifically proven that HIIT is just better at the job.” Right?

One more example? Sure:

Do you like your eggs scrambled, poached, or boiled? To maximize bioavailability of the nutrients, soft-boiling is the king. Is every other way just wrong?

I think you get the point: There are always many ways to reach your goal, and there’s nothing wrong with picking the less optimal path if you enjoy some aspects of it more. In the end, the moving burns calories, eggs provide nutrients, and consistent investing results in financial freedom.

What matters is consistency, and whatever keeps you on the path can be a good thing.