Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in ESI 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+186.2%
Final Value$137.4K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+172.1%
Final Value$130.6K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+159.8%
Final Value$124.7K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap26.4 pp
Your timing vs best-14.1%
Your timing vs worst+12.4%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 17.1%/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$45K~1.5x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$145K~2.4x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$851K~7.1x 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~2.4x your money
20 Years~7.1x your money
$100/mo
$5K+$975 est. gain
$9K+$3K est. gain
$29K+$17K est. gain
$170K+$146K est. gain
$250/mo
$11K+$2K est. gain
$23K+$8K est. gain
$73K+$43K est. gain
$425K+$365K est. gain
$500/mo
$23K+$5K est. gain
$45K+$15K est. gain
$145K+$85K est. gain
$851K+$731K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$46K+$10K est. gain
$91K+$31K est. gain
$291K+$171K est. gain
$1.7M+$1.5M est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 17.1% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$11.70
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$11.87
$10,500
$10,645
+1.38%
$145
Mar 2, 2020
$10.72
$11,000
$10,114
-8.05%
$-886
Apr 2, 2020
$8.03
$11,500
$8,076
-29.77%
$-3,424
May 4, 2020
$9.86
$12,000
$10,417
-13.20%
$-1,583
Jun 2, 2020
$11.23
$12,500
$12,364
-1.09%
$-136
Jul 2, 2020
$10.96
$13,000
$12,567
-3.33%
$-433
Aug 3, 2020
$11.44
$13,500
$13,617
+0.87%
$117
Sep 2, 2020
$11.40
$14,000
$14,069
+0.50%
$69
Oct 2, 2020
$10.98
$14,500
$14,051
-3.10%
$-449
Nov 2, 2020
$11.87
$15,000
$15,690
+4.60%
$690
Dec 2, 2020
$14.40
$15,500
$19,601
+26.46%
$4,101
Jan 4, 2021
$17.30
$16,000
$24,048
+50.30%
$8,048
Feb 2, 2021
$17.72
$16,500
$25,132
+52.31%
$8,632
Mar 2, 2021
$18.51
$17,000
$26,825
+57.79%
$9,825
Apr 5, 2021
$19.06
$17,500
$28,122
+60.70%
$10,622
May 3, 2021
$21.90
$18,000
$32,812
+82.29%
$14,812
Jun 2, 2021
$23.51
$18,500
$35,815
+93.59%
$17,315
Jul 2, 2021
$23.90
$19,000
$36,909
+94.26%
$17,909
Aug 2, 2021
$23.45
$19,500
$36,714
+88.28%
$17,214
Sep 2, 2021
$22.61
$20,000
$35,993
+79.96%
$15,993
Oct 4, 2021
$22.31
$20,500
$36,015
+75.68%
$15,515
Nov 2, 2021
$24.44
$21,000
$39,953
+90.25%
$18,953
Dec 2, 2021
$23.01
$21,500
$38,247
+77.89%
$16,747
Jan 3, 2022
$24.56
$22,000
$41,324
+87.84%
$19,324
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in ESI
Investing $500 per month in Element Solutions Inc (ESI) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $131K today. That's +172.1% total return on $48K invested, with a +17.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $4K from reinvested dividends.