# DCA plans in Nepal: what dollar-cost averaging actually does

> Dollar-cost averaging is usually sold as a way to avoid bad timing. On NEPSA it is more useful than that: you commit a fixed amount of rupees on fixed dates, and Lagani Saathi works out what each run would buy so you can place the order yourself. This guide explains the mechanics honestly, including the board-lot and price-cap rules that decide whether a run fills at all.

Learn what a DCA plan does on NEPSA, how board lots, price caps, and the 15% AMO band shape each run, and why fixed-amount investing suits salaried investors.

## Highlights

- **Buy a fixed amount on fixed dates**: A DCA plan spends the same amount of rupees on every run, whatever the price. Lagani Saathi prices the run and emails you the exact order to place in your broker's TMS. If you explicitly authorise automatic placement on a plan, it places that plan's after-market orders for you instead.
- **Why averaging happens**: Low prices turn the same rupees into more shares; high prices into fewer. Over many runs your average cost per share lands between the highest and lowest prices you paid, so one badly timed entry does not define your cost. It also removes the "is now a good time to buy?" decision, which is where most retail timing goes wrong.
- **Board lots decide the real quantity**: NEPSE has no fractional shares: every scrip trades in board lots, commonly 10 kitta and sometimes just 1. A run rounds your amount down to whole lots. Leftover cash moves to the next scrip in the same run, and whatever is still left over is not invested that time.
- **Price caps and the 15% AMO band**: Each run carries a maximum premium over the reference price, capped at 15% because AMO (After Market Order) orders must sit within 15% of the previous close. A tighter cap protects you from chasing the price but can leave a run unfilled; a looser cap fills more often but can overpay on a gap-up open.
- **Why it fits a salary**: A fixed monthly amount turns regular savings into a shareholding without waiting to gather a lump sum, and it keeps you buying through dips instead of pausing. Spreading purchases over months or years is what reduces the cost of mistiming.

## FAQ

### Does Lagani Saathi buy shares automatically for a DCA plan?

No. Each run is priced and emailed to you as an exact order to place in your broker's TMS. Lagani Saathi does not place orders on its own.

### What happens when a run cannot buy what the plan expected?

The run records a reason instead of buying: the amount falling short of one board lot, a stale or unavailable price, an unknown scrip, allocation weights that do not sum to 1.0, or a TMS account that is inactive or cannot reconnect. Nothing is bought in that run, and the schedule moves on.

### Is DCA safer than investing a lump sum?

It reduces the cost of mistiming, not market risk. NEPSA prices can fall for long stretches, and a plan that keeps buying through a long decline keeps adding shares at a higher average cost. DCA is not a guarantee of profit.

### How often should a DCA plan run?

Lagani Saathi supports weekly, twice a month, monthly, and every three months plans. Monthly plans are the most common fit for salaried investors because they match a pay cycle; weekly plans spread the entry points more finely.

### Does DCA change my capital gains tax?

Capital gains tax on a share sale is computed from the difference between the selling price and your recorded purchase cost, so an accurate cost per share still matters. Correcting that recorded rate after a merger is covered in the WACC guide.

### Is "rupee cost averaging" the same thing as DCA?

Yes. Dollar-cost averaging is the general term, and rupee-cost averaging is the same mechanism with the amount expressed in rupees. It is the same plan, not a different strategy, and Lagani Saathi only calls it DCA.

### Can one plan buy several scrips?

Yes. Each plan carries weighted allocations across scrips, and a run divides the amount by those weights. The plan only runs when its enabled allocations add up to a full weight of 1.0.