Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in FSTR 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+154.3%
Final Value$122.0K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+137.7%
Final Value$114.1K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+122.4%
Final Value$106.8K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap31.8 pp
Your timing vs best-16.6%
Your timing vs worst+15.3%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 14.6%/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$127K~2.1x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$627K~5.2x 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~2.1x your money
20 Years~5.2x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$824 est. gain
$9K+$3K est. gain
$25K+$13K est. gain
$125K+$101K est. gain
$250/mo
$11K+$2K est. gain
$21K+$6K est. gain
$64K+$34K est. gain
$313K+$253K est. gain
$500/mo
$22K+$4K est. gain
$43K+$13K est. gain
$127K+$67K est. gain
$627K+$507K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$44K+$8K est. gain
$86K+$26K est. gain
$255K+$135K est. gain
$1.3M+$1.0M est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 14.6% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$19.30
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$16.94
$10,500
$9,277
-11.65%
$-1,223
Mar 2, 2020
$15.95
$11,000
$9,235
-16.05%
$-1,765
Apr 2, 2020
$12.48
$11,500
$7,726
-32.82%
$-3,774
May 4, 2020
$13.31
$12,000
$8,740
-27.17%
$-3,260
Jun 2, 2020
$12.73
$12,500
$8,859
-29.13%
$-3,641
Jul 2, 2020
$12.37
$13,000
$9,108
-29.94%
$-3,892
Aug 3, 2020
$14.68
$13,500
$11,309
-16.23%
$-2,191
Sep 2, 2020
$14.41
$14,000
$11,601
-17.13%
$-2,399
Oct 2, 2020
$13.98
$14,500
$11,755
-18.93%
$-2,745
Nov 2, 2020
$13.95
$15,000
$12,230
-18.47%
$-2,770
Dec 2, 2020
$15.05
$15,500
$13,694
-11.65%
$-1,806
Jan 4, 2021
$14.66
$16,000
$13,839
-13.50%
$-2,161
Feb 2, 2021
$15.29
$16,500
$14,934
-9.49%
$-1,566
Mar 2, 2021
$16.84
$17,000
$16,948
-0.31%
$-52
Apr 5, 2021
$18.39
$17,500
$19,008
+8.62%
$1,508
May 3, 2021
$16.49
$18,000
$17,544
-2.53%
$-456
Jun 2, 2021
$18.30
$18,500
$19,970
+7.94%
$1,470
Jul 2, 2021
$18.86
$19,000
$21,081
+10.95%
$2,081
Aug 2, 2021
$18.16
$19,500
$20,798
+6.66%
$1,298
Sep 2, 2021
$16.86
$20,000
$19,810
-0.95%
$-190
Oct 4, 2021
$15.43
$20,500
$18,629
-9.12%
$-1,871
Nov 2, 2021
$16.08
$21,000
$19,914
-5.17%
$-1,086
Dec 2, 2021
$15.04
$21,500
$19,126
-11.04%
$-2,374
Jan 3, 2022
$14.24
$22,000
$18,609
-15.41%
$-3,391
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in FSTR
Investing $500 per month in L.B. Foster Company (FSTR) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $114K today. That's +137.7% total return on $48K invested, with a +14.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).