<prompt> Human: I have some slowly building up savings from a decade or so of employment. So far they have been in savings or money market accounts, and I have finally heeded all the advice to gain exposure to the stock market. I am at least 25 years from retirement.So, index funds. I get it, why they are good, etc.My question is about timing the entry, and whether to do it in a lump-sum, or using a dollar-cost-average ramped-entry.As others have pointed out in other threads, annualized returns over 10 or even 20 years can be dramatically impacted by some good or bad luck on when the starting point is.So is DCA a good way to mitigate that risk especially since we have had a very bullish run for the last 3 years, and I am not confident about the same uptick going into 2013 ? Should I spread in my entry over a year perhaps ? Vanguard seems to suggest Lump Sum as superior in 23 of the cases, looking back over time. But Im not sure what to make of that. Thanks for any insights. EDIT: Thanks for all the responses. It makes sense to me that the psychological aspect is important, and that should swing it in favor of DCA. Btw, the Vanguard study I referenced has been kindly linked to by WestTexasRedneck in a comment below.  <response>: If youre entering the stock market for the first time I think dollar cost averaging might be easier to handle psychologically. 