In our monthly segment, Investing Sense, Dr. Wei Hu, vice president of financial research for Edelman Financial Engines, joins Jean and wealth planner Andy Smith to discuss how reference points can lead to bad investing decisions and what to do to help prevent that from happening.

Dollar Cost Averaging does not assure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. For the strategy to be effective, you must continue to purchase shares in both up and down markets. As such, an investor needs to consider his/her financial ability to continuously invest through periods of low-price levels.

An index is a portfolio of specific securities (common examples are the S&P, DJIA, NASDAQ), the performance of which is often used as a benchmark in judging the relative performance of certain asset classes. Indexes are unmanaged portfolios and investors cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results. 

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