Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in EFC-PD 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+22.9%
Final Value$30.1K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+43.1%
Final Value$34.3K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+19.3%
Final Value$29.2K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap3.6 pp
Your timing vs best+20.2%
Your timing vs worst+23.8%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 16.2%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$23K~1.3x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$44K~1.5x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$138K~2.3x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$759K~6.3x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.3x your money
5 Years~1.5x your money
10 Years~2.3x your money
20 Years~6.3x your money
$100/mo
$5K+$918 est. gain
$9K+$3K est. gain
$28K+$16K est. gain
$152K+$128K est. gain
$250/mo
$11K+$2K est. gain
$22K+$7K est. gain
$69K+$39K est. gain
$379K+$319K est. gain
$500/mo
$23K+$5K est. gain
$44K+$14K est. gain
$138K+$78K est. gain
$759K+$639K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$45K+$9K est. gain
$89K+$29K est. gain
$277K+$157K est. gain
$1.5M+$1.3M est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 16.2% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
29 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Dec 15, 2023
$20.30
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Jan 16, 2024
$21.02
$10,500
$15,074
+43.57%
$4,574
Feb 15, 2024
$21.04
$11,000
$15,589
+41.72%
$4,589
Mar 15, 2024
$21.83
$11,500
$16,674
+44.99%
$5,174
Apr 15, 2024
$21.58
$12,000
$17,316
+44.30%
$5,316
May 15, 2024
$21.45
$12,500
$17,712
+41.69%
$5,212
Jun 17, 2024
$24.43
$13,000
$20,672
+59.02%
$7,672
Jul 15, 2024
$22.75
$13,500
$20,096
+48.86%
$6,596
Aug 15, 2024
$21.50
$14,000
$19,492
+39.23%
$5,492
Sep 16, 2024
$22.55
$14,500
$20,944
+44.44%
$6,444
Oct 15, 2024
$22.91
$15,000
$22,179
+47.86%
$7,179
Nov 15, 2024
$22.76
$15,500
$22,534
+45.38%
$7,034
Dec 16, 2024
$23.00
$16,000
$23,271
+45.45%
$7,271
Jan 15, 2025
$24.00
$16,500
$25,227
+52.89%
$8,727
Feb 18, 2025
$23.50
$17,000
$25,201
+48.24%
$8,201
Mar 17, 2025
$23.81
$17,500
$26,034
+48.76%
$8,534
Apr 15, 2025
$23.48
$18,000
$26,659
+48.10%
$8,659
May 15, 2025
$24.09
$18,500
$27,851
+50.55%
$9,351
Jun 16, 2025
$22.99
$19,000
$27,079
+42.52%
$8,079
Jul 15, 2025
$23.45
$19,500
$28,647
+46.91%
$9,147
Aug 15, 2025
$23.46
$20,000
$29,159
+45.80%
$9,159
Sep 15, 2025
$24.30
$20,500
$30,703
+49.77%
$10,203
Oct 15, 2025
$24.01
$21,000
$31,378
+49.42%
$10,378
Nov 17, 2025
$24.48
$21,500
$32,493
+51.13%
$10,993
Dec 15, 2025
$23.98
$22,000
$32,329
+46.95%
$10,329
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in EFC-PD
Investing $500 per month in Ellington Financial Inc. (EFC-PD) over the past 2 years would be worth approximately $34K today. That's +43.1% total return on $24K invested, with a +16.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $8K from reinvested dividends.