Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in CERT means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, regardless of share price. This strategy reduces timing risk and builds wealth steadily through market ups and downs.
How This Calculator Works
Our DCA calculator simulates real market conditions using historical price data. It accounts for dividend reinvestment (DRIP), where each dividend payment automatically purchases additional shares. You can adjust the investment amount, frequency, time period, and compare against benchmarks like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100.
Same amount invested each month — only the day of purchase changes. How much does intra-month timing actually matter?
Best Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly low
Total Return-60.2%
Final Value$16.9K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return-64.3%
Final Value$15.0K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return-66.7%
Final Value$14.1K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap6.5 pp
Your timing vs best-4.1%
Your timing vs worst+2.4%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of -17.4%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$18K~1.0x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$30K~1.0x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$60K~1.0x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$120K~1.0x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.0x your money
5 Years~1.0x your money
10 Years~1.0x your money
20 Years~1.0x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$0 est. gain
$6K+$0 est. gain
$12K+$0 est. gain
$24K+$0 est. gain
$250/mo
$9K+$0 est. gain
$15K+$0 est. gain
$30K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$500/mo
$18K+$0 est. gain
$30K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$120K+$0 est. gain
$1,000/mo
$36K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$120K+$0 est. gain
$240K+$0 est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of -17.4% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
65 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Dec 11, 2020
$38.08
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Jan 11, 2021
$35.04
$10,500
$9,702
-7.60%
$-798
Feb 11, 2021
$39.00
$11,000
$11,298
+2.71%
$298
Mar 11, 2021
$27.00
$11,500
$8,322
-27.64%
$-3,178
Apr 12, 2021
$27.25
$12,000
$8,899
-25.84%
$-3,101
May 11, 2021
$28.29
$12,500
$9,738
-22.09%
$-2,762
Jun 11, 2021
$26.92
$13,000
$9,767
-24.87%
$-3,233
Jul 12, 2021
$27.52
$13,500
$10,485
-22.34%
$-3,015
Aug 11, 2021
$28.08
$14,000
$11,198
-20.02%
$-2,802
Sep 13, 2021
$36.18
$14,500
$14,928
+2.95%
$428
Oct 11, 2021
$33.51
$15,000
$14,326
-4.49%
$-674
Nov 11, 2021
$39.38
$15,500
$17,336
+11.84%
$1,836
Dec 13, 2021
$28.34
$16,000
$12,976
-18.90%
$-3,024
Jan 11, 2022
$27.16
$16,500
$12,936
-21.60%
$-3,564
Feb 11, 2022
$26.65
$17,000
$13,193
-22.40%
$-3,807
Mar 11, 2022
$18.96
$17,500
$9,886
-43.51%
$-7,614
Apr 11, 2022
$20.84
$18,000
$11,366
-36.85%
$-6,634
May 11, 2022
$16.75
$18,500
$9,635
-47.92%
$-8,865
Jun 13, 2022
$17.88
$19,000
$10,785
-43.23%
$-8,215
Jul 11, 2022
$22.25
$19,500
$13,922
-28.61%
$-5,578
Aug 11, 2022
$20.19
$20,000
$13,133
-34.34%
$-6,867
Sep 12, 2022
$16.53
$20,500
$11,252
-45.11%
$-9,248
Oct 11, 2022
$12.45
$21,000
$8,975
-57.26%
$-12,025
Nov 11, 2022
$14.65
$21,500
$11,061
-48.56%
$-10,439
Dec 12, 2022
$17.00
$22,000
$13,335
-39.39%
$-8,665
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in CERT
Investing $500 per month in Certara, Inc. (CERT) over the past 5 years would be worth approximately $15K today. That's -64.3% total return on $42K invested, with a -17.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).