The real value of dollar cost averaging lies in the risk-reduction benefits, not the cost savings made, according to a new study on the issue, published recently in Journal of Financial Planning .

The study, written by associate professor of finance at the University of Utah, Robert Dubil, confirms that averaging in over time is akin to buying less-than-perfectly correlated assets, producing lower volatility of the terminal value of the investment.

"To date, research on dollar-cost averaging (DCA) has focused on the strategy's cost advantages: a constant amount buys more when the price drops and less when the price increases,"...