Quote from Smart Money:
Hey, actually, even in a sideways market, provided that there is some volatility, it makes money. Model it yourself and see. Make a sine wave pattern, and you'll see that over the long term, the average purchase price is lower than the average price (middle of the sine wave). This is because when the price is low, you buy more, and when it is high, you buy less.
Theoretically, you could even make money in a slight downtrend if there was enough volatility.
SM
Oops. Should have clarified that you could only "theortically" make money in a slight downward trend SHORTTERM.
Also, food for thought. Everyone should know that when you retire with your huge nest egg, not to take regular monthly payments from sales on stocks for your income. If you sell stocks that way, you are dollar cost averaging in reverse. You would be selling the most shares when prices are down. Instead, you should take a sell off a set percentage of your portfolio (or a set number of shares) every month. If the market sucks wind, you go hungry.
Now...ask me if I really think the market is a place to park your money in 10 to 30 years...
SM