Monthly vs. Annual IRA Contribution Experiment - March 2013 Update

The Monthly vs. Annual lump-sum IRA contribution timing experiment March 2013 update.

Annual Contribution Roth IRA

Fund	Shares	Price	Cost Basis	Market Value	Gain/Loss	Gain/Loss %
VTSMX	201.80	39.39	6,885.54	7,948.85	1,063.31	15.44
VGTSX	185.48	15.39	2,659.46	2,854.61	195.15	7.34
VBMFX	102.93	11.00	1,134.79	1,132.23	-2.56	-.23
	Totals:		10,679.79	11,935.69	1,255.90	11.76

Account Summary :

03/21/2013 – Reinvested $33.36 dividend for Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund
03/21/2013 – Reinvested $6.85 dividend for Vanguard Total International Stock Market Index
03/28/2013 – Reinvested $2.17 dividend for Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund
03/28/2013 – Reinvested $0.10 short-term capital gain distribution for Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund
03/28/2013 – Revinested $1.74 long-term capital gain distribution for Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund

Fund	Shares	Price	Cost Basis	Market Value	Gain/Loss	Gain/Loss %
VTSMX	122.39	39.39	4,187.77	4,821.17	633.40	15.12
VGTSX	112.92	15.39	1,612.75	1,737.91	125.16	7.76
VBMFX	62.77	11.00	695.64	690.51	-5.13	-0.74
	Totals:		6,496.16	7,249.59	753.43	11.60

Account Summary :

03/01/2013 – Contributed $458.33
03/01/2013 – Purchased mutual funds
03/21/2013 – Reinvested $20.23 dividend for Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund
03/21/2013 – Reinvested $4.17 dividend for Vanguard Total International Stock Market Index
03/28/2013 – Reinvested $1.32 dividend for Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund
03/28/2013 – Reinvested $0.06 short-term capital gain distribution for Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund
03/28/2013 – Revinested $1.06 long-term capital gain distribution for Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund

Account	Gain/Loss %	% Change From Prior Month
Annual	11.76	2.78
Monthly	11.60	2.77

Analysis :

There was a lot of brouhaha about the Dow and the S&P 500 hitting all time highs in March. All in all, just a lot of noise.
Money is flowing back into stock funds in large amounts. A major case of investors chasing returns and getting in at the wrong time. Stick with dollar cost averaging in this type of investing environment.
Investors are still afraid of interest rates, bank stability, and the economy in Europe.
Real estate is still going strong – jacking up prices while mortgage rates continue to rise slowly. A lot of activity is still fueled by investors buying homes to use as rentals.
As of the end of March, the performance of the Monthly and Annual IRA’s are pretty much on par.