What's the benefit of dollar-cost averaging vs lump sum investing?

Most investors feel more comfortable spreading money in over time rather than putting it all in at once, partly because dollar-cost averaging reduces the risk of buying right before a market drop. The trade-off is that lump sum investing historically tends to perform better over the long run, since markets trend upward and you'd have your money working earlier. Dollar-cost averaging wins mainly on psychology - it makes volatile markets feel less scary and helps people actually stick with their investment plan instead of panic-selling during downturns.

The psychological comfort of DCA is real, but the math usually favors lump sum if you've got the cash available - historically, markets trend up more often than down, so sitting on money waiting to deploy it tends to cost you more than it saves. Where DCA actually wins is if you're genuinely adding new income over time (like monthly paychecks), since you're not choosing to hold cash; you're investing as money becomes available, which is a different scenario entirely.