Suppose my sister and I both have 5 shares of a cash cow like O:US, but each at a different cost of acquisition. As a consequence,

• Our DYOC would be different due to that c@a
• Our margin@safety is different due to that c@a
• Our dreamland prospect is different due to that c@a

So how do we control the c@a? Most people (eg: LZ.Yu) focus on market timing. Somehow, value investors don’t. In my view, Value-Investing is less about buying low, but mostly about.. buying high only after due diligence and always followed by a retrospective analysis aimed at learning lessons and improving cost@acquisition. Buying high due to impulse or infatuation has no ground and is regrettable.

DCA is mindless robo-investing. DRIP is same on a smaller scale. I believe their c@a is inferior.

— tip: beware of the tendency of impulsive trader and infatuated trader
— tip: commission .. is crucial in my “system” using small orders. So I put aside Kun.h’s advice to “accept commission costs as negligible”.
— tip: fractional trading .. has become crucial in my “system”, esp. when price moves after my buy. See impulsive trader
— tip: use limit orders patiently sitting away from the market price (守株待兔), esp. for illiquid, slow-moving stocks. When the price moves, it tends to jump.

I believe many HFT shops deliberately use limit orders and exchange rebates.

I think Booth’s DFA used limit orders on small cap stocks to create a c@a advantage.

How about tcost@acquisition for a recreational investor ? LG2