what's the point in diversifying in time if one believes one cant time the market. the only point i see is "piece of mind" in case the market tanks you wont feel so bad.
If one believes
a) one can't time the market
b) the market (as a whole) trends up over time
doesn't this means that on average the best time to invest money is as soon as you can (of course there are other reasons to take you time, but I don't see how "diversifying by time" is a good reason as it would seem to imply market timing)
It is because if you can't time the market you don't know whether you are in a slump or in a rally. If you stretch your investment in time you partially avoid a possible crash after a rally when you got in just before the crash.
I really enjoy your point :-) but I see things differently.
I think stretching your investment means you learn about how markets and investment really works because you will make a lot of mistakes during a period of time.
Rushing into market means you will make less mistakes, but bigger ones.
I like this observation that you can take time to ease into it. A lot of the risks of investing passively are really on the individual and the right mental approach is extremely important too.
If one believes
a) one can't time the market b) the market (as a whole) trends up over time
doesn't this means that on average the best time to invest money is as soon as you can (of course there are other reasons to take you time, but I don't see how "diversifying by time" is a good reason as it would seem to imply market timing)