Understanding dollar cost averaging

Dollar cost averaging (DCA) is an automated investment management tool that enables you to make regular monthly or quarterly investments from your client’s cash account into certain managed funds or Separately Managed Accounts (SMA).

DCA isn’t available for:

• Australian and international listed securities
• term deposits
• non-daily priced funds.

You can have one automated investment plan on an account at a time. To see if your client has an existing DCA plan:

1. Log into Adviser Online
2. Select Clients, then Accounts
3. Search for and select your client's wrap account
4. Select Portfolio, then Administration
5. Navigate to Automated plans where you can find the details of any current DCA plan.

1. Log into Adviser Online
2. Select Clients, then Accounts
3. Search for and select your client's wrap account
4. Select Portfolio, then Administration
5. Under Automated plans, expand the Dollar cost averaging accordion and click on the Add dollar cost averaging button
6. Select Enter or maintain dollar cost averaging
7. Select the frequency
8. Enter the total amount per payment (in whole dollars)
9. Enter a final payment date or select  Until further notice
10. Select the security or securities you want to apply DCA to and the amount per payment
11. Select Update to confirm your changes.

New plans or updates to existing plans won’t be saved until authorised by you or by associates in your office with full transact authority. A pending status indicates the plan hasn’t been authorised.

When setting up a DCA plan for a retail client, you’ll need to confirm that personal advice has been given recommending that the account holder/s invest in each of the products within the DCA plan. 

1. Log into Adviser Online
2. Select Clients, then Accounts
3. Search for and select your client’s wrap account
4. Select Portfolio, then Administration
5. Under Automated plans, expand the Dollar cost averaging accordion and click on the Update dollar cost averaging button
6. Select Enter or maintain dollar cost averaging
7. To remove an asset, select the asset, then select delete and follow the prompts
8. To replace an asset, select the asset, then select modify and follow the prompts.

1. Log into Adviser Online
2. Select Clients, then Accounts
3. Search for and select your client’s wrap account
4. Select Portfolio, then Administration
5. Under Automated plans, expand the Dollar cost averaging accordion and click on the Update dollar cost averaging button
6. Select Enter or maintain dollar cost averaging
7. Select the DCA plan to be cancelled and deleted
8. Select Delete
9. Select Authorise on the next screen to delete the selected DCA plan.

Note, at least six monthly or four quarterly investment runs must have been made before the plan can be cancelled.

The minimum transaction requirement for DCA is $250 per month/quarter and $50 per managed investment.

If a DCA plan triggers multiple orders, only the orders above $50 will be processed.

DCA won’t run if the minimum cash balance is insufficient. You’ll receive an alert if your client’s DCA plan fails due to insufficient cash. You can see more about setting up an alert for a client.

DCA orders will fail for assets that are closed to new investments. Where your client’s DCA plan holds assets that are open and closed to new investments, only the orders for closed funds will fail.

DCA transactions will occur on, or around, the 16th of the month (though this date may change without prior notice). If there’s enough cash, the DCA will occur, and the cash will be debited the next business day after the order is placed.

When the 16th falls on a weekend, DCA will generally occur the first business day after the weekend.