Dollar-cost averaging vs. market timing

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been recording a series of Q&As that came out of a presentation I gave in November for the American Association of Individual Investors — AAII.

At the end of that nearly two-hour talk, I promised that I’d do a podcast answering every single question that came in. Well… there were 36 questions. That’s a little too much for one episode, so we broke them into three parts.

This is Part 3 — the final 12 questions. If you haven’t heard Parts 1 and 2 yet, we’ll link those in the show notes so you can catch up.

Before we jump in, I just want to say: I’m a huge fan of AAII. I started teaching their local chapters way back in 1984, and over the years I think I’ve presented to just about every chapter in the country — sometimes in person, sometimes by Zoom — but always to people who are genuinely committed to learning how investing works.

If you’ve never checked out AAII, I’ll include a link in the notes for a low-cost trial membership. Take a look around and see if it’s a resource that fits your investing journey.

Alright — let’s get to the last 12.

1. Will you develop strategies using the equal-weighted S&P 500? 01:44

2. Can you recommend advisors who follow your strategy? 07:20

3. Should I move mutual funds to ETFs in taxable accounts despite taxes? 11:26

4. With markets at highs, should I keep dollar-cost averaging or rebalance? 16:17

5. What portfolio fits 10 years to retire and 20–30 years of decumulation? 24:08

6. Will the configurator shift to only Avantis/DFA funds in 2026? 30:37

7. What does “inflation-adjusted fixed withdrawals” mean? 33:56

8. How should I invest an inheritance for kids/grandkids ages 2–45? 38:21

9. Ultimate Buy-and-Hold vs. two- or four-fund strategies — which is better? 49:03

10. Should political conditions change retirement portfolio decisions? 59:12

11. How do I find a fee-based/hourly advisor (Rhode Island question)? 1:05:56

12. Should very conservative 91-year-olds move beyond bonds and cash? 1:13:28

    
    

    Part 1 of the AAII Q&A Series 
    Part 2 of the AAII Q&A Series 
    AAII trial membership offer (the ~$2 first month deal)
    Boot Camp series hub 
    Fine-Tuning Your Asset Allocation table / lesson

    Sound Investing / portfolio decade return tables —
    Fixed vs. Variable Withdrawal episode/article 
    H-2A table referenced in Q9 
    Chris Pedersen Boot Camp presentation (Two-Fund for Life) 
    Garrett Planning Network advisor directory 
    HelloNectarine hourly advisor platform 
    PlanVision / Mark Zoril reference