Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in ET 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+157.1%
Final Value$123.4K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+142.7%
Final Value$116.5K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+128.3%
Final Value$109.6K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap28.8 pp
Your timing vs best-14.3%
Your timing vs worst+14.5%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 15.0%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$22K~1.2x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$43K~1.4x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$130K~2.2x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$657K~5.5x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.2x your money
5 Years~1.4x your money
10 Years~2.2x your money
20 Years~5.5x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$847 est. gain
$9K+$3K est. gain
$26K+$14K est. gain
$131K+$107K est. gain
$250/mo
$11K+$2K est. gain
$22K+$7K est. gain
$65K+$35K est. gain
$328K+$268K est. gain
$500/mo
$22K+$4K est. gain
$43K+$13K est. gain
$130K+$70K est. gain
$657K+$537K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$44K+$8K est. gain
$86K+$26K est. gain
$260K+$140K est. gain
$1.3M+$1.1M est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 15.0% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$13.34
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$12.80
$10,500
$10,095
-3.86%
$-405
Mar 2, 2020
$11.83
$11,000
$10,054
-8.60%
$-946
Apr 2, 2020
$5.22
$11,500
$4,936
-57.08%
$-6,564
May 4, 2020
$8.09
$12,000
$8,150
-32.08%
$-3,850
Jun 2, 2020
$8.31
$12,500
$9,209
-26.33%
$-3,291
Jul 2, 2020
$7.04
$13,000
$8,302
-36.14%
$-4,698
Aug 3, 2020
$6.74
$13,500
$8,448
-37.42%
$-5,052
Sep 2, 2020
$6.30
$14,000
$8,760
-37.43%
$-5,240
Oct 2, 2020
$5.43
$14,500
$8,050
-44.48%
$-6,450
Nov 2, 2020
$5.17
$15,000
$8,164
-45.57%
$-6,836
Dec 2, 2020
$6.33
$15,500
$10,781
-30.45%
$-4,719
Jan 4, 2021
$6.10
$16,000
$10,889
-31.94%
$-5,111
Feb 2, 2021
$6.53
$16,500
$12,157
-26.32%
$-4,343
Mar 2, 2021
$7.98
$17,000
$15,693
-7.69%
$-1,307
Apr 5, 2021
$7.82
$17,500
$15,879
-9.27%
$-1,621
May 3, 2021
$8.63
$18,000
$18,023
+0.13%
$23
Jun 2, 2021
$10.47
$18,500
$22,707
+22.74%
$4,207
Jul 2, 2021
$10.71
$19,000
$23,727
+24.88%
$4,727
Aug 2, 2021
$9.70
$19,500
$21,989
+12.77%
$2,489
Sep 2, 2021
$9.67
$20,000
$22,788
+13.94%
$2,788
Oct 4, 2021
$10.08
$20,500
$24,254
+18.31%
$3,754
Nov 2, 2021
$9.83
$21,000
$24,153
+15.01%
$3,153
Dec 2, 2021
$8.32
$21,500
$21,280
-1.02%
$-220
Jan 3, 2022
$8.71
$22,000
$22,778
+3.54%
$778
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in ET
Investing $500 per month in Energy Transfer LP (ET) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $117K today. That's +142.7% total return on $48K invested, with a +15.0% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $24K from reinvested dividends.