Certainly not trying to hijack the thread, just thought my experience is relevant to the discussion. After combing the formus the forum on lump-sum vs DCA, I jumped in and put $30k in a Vanguard account.
I thought I would offer my limited experience to show that lump-sum can cause some initial hair loss, and ask for a little reassurance and/or advice. Here's my experience:
5/1/2015
opened Vangaurd account:
VBTLX $10,000
VTSAX $20,000
7/1/2015
began DCA auto-investing a total of $375 / week (on Wednesdays), divided like this:
VBTLX $18.75
VTSAX $356.25
at this rate, after a year of auto-investing the account will be approximately 80/20 VTSAX/VBTLX
8/5/2015
total invested to-date (including dividends): $32,249.98
total assets to-date: $31,993.67
difference: -$256.31
I've lost ~$400 in market value. The ~$150 in dividends have bolstered things, but I'm in the red at this point. My wife has been supportive, especially after it took some convincing to get her on board with the Vanguard account, but I'm feeling pretty crumby about loosing money.
Other details:
I'm 43, wife is 38. I max out a 457B, and put some into a 403B. She's maxing her 403B, considering options on 457B. Combined we have ~450k in these retirement savings. Our only debt is our mortgage. BTW, both my 457B and 403B have taken a hit too, but I'm more accustomed to ignoring these fluctuations. Since the Vanguard stuff is new to me it's a little more nerve-racking.
Thoughts? I still feel like I'm on the right track, but it sure is tough to stay the course.