DCA vs Market Timing vs ATH Buying - Backtesting

Compare investment timing strategies with equal capital to see which actually performs best.

This indicator backtests whether buying at all-time highs, waiting for pullbacks, or regular DCA builds more wealth over time.

Each strategy receives the same monthly budget (default $100). The difference is when they invest:

• ATH Strategy: Invests when price hits new highs (1-year lookback default)
• Pullback Strategies: Wait for 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% corrections before investing
• Regular DCA: Invests monthly regardless of price

Key Metrics:

• Budget: Total capital allocated (equal for all)
• Value: Current portfolio value (stocks + cash)
• Return%: Overall performance
• Deployed%: How much capital is actually invested vs sitting in cash earning 0%
• Trades: Number of investments made

The Deployed% column reveals the hidden cost of waiting. Pullback strategies often underperform because they keep too much cash idle, missing the gains that occur while waiting for corrections.

Use Cases:

• Validate whether waiting for corrections is worth the opportunity cost
• Test different pullback thresholds on historical data
• Compare ATH investing vs DCA vs market timing
• Analyze performance across different time periods
• Results typically show that time in the market beats timing the market—this tool lets you prove it with data.