Learn · Research notes
Why S&P 500 DCA is the honest baseline
After timing and tactical forks failed our bar, the evidence-backed habit is simple: the same contribution into a broad market on a schedule. How to use SteadyGrow’s S&P 500 DCA tools.
Direct answer
Our research repeatedly lost to or failed to beat S&P 500 DCA on time-weighted return. The honest baseline for a monthly saver is a plain S&P 500 (or world) DCA calculator — not a paid timing product.
What “honest baseline” means
A baseline is what you compare every clever idea against:
- Same dollars in
- Same calendar
- Published prices
- No invent-cash
- TWR and drawdown, not vanity wealth ratios
In our forks, 100% S&P 500 DCA kept winning that comparison for equity-heavy books — or tactical ideas failed rolling windows so badly they were not shippable.
Tools that match the baseline
- S&P 500 DCA calculator
- Dollar cost averaging calculator
- Monthly investment calculator
- DCA vs lump sum
- What if I invested $500/month?
What we are not claiming
We are not claiming S&P 500 DCA is optimal for every person, currency, or tax wrapper. We are claiming it is the right comparison line after we spent a lot of research trying to beat it with timing and sleeves — and mostly failed.
Frequently asked questions
- Why S&P 500 DCA is the honest baseline?
- Our research repeatedly lost to or failed to beat S&P 500 DCA on time-weighted return. The honest baseline for a monthly saver is a plain S&P 500 (or world) DCA calculator — not a paid timing product.
- Do you sell a trading strategy based on this research?
- No. These pages document what we tested and why we do not sell a paid allocator. Use the free S&P 500 DCA calculators instead.
Run the numbers on real history
Guides are cheap. Seeing a monthly habit on published S&P 500 prices is the point.