Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in MFA 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+41.2%
Final Value$67.8K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+19.7%
Final Value$57.4K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+10.7%
Final Value$53.1K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap30.5 pp
Your timing vs best-21.5%
Your timing vs worst+9.0%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 2.9%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$19K~1.0x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$32K~1.1x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$69K~1.2x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$161K~1.3x 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~1.1x your money
10 Years~1.2x your money
20 Years~1.3x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$153 est. gain
$6K+$438 est. gain
$14K+$2K est. gain
$32K+$8K est. gain
$250/mo
$9K+$382 est. gain
$16K+$1K est. gain
$35K+$5K est. gain
$81K+$21K est. gain
$500/mo
$19K+$765 est. gain
$32K+$2K est. gain
$69K+$9K est. gain
$161K+$41K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$38K+$2K est. gain
$64K+$4K est. gain
$139K+$19K est. gain
$322K+$82K est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 2.9% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$30.56
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$31.28
$10,500
$10,736
+2.24%
$236
Mar 2, 2020
$30.40
$11,000
$10,934
-0.60%
$-66
Apr 2, 2020
$4.40
$11,500
$2,291
-80.08%
$-9,209
May 4, 2020
$6.60
$12,000
$3,936
-67.20%
$-8,064
Jun 2, 2020
$7.36
$12,500
$4,889
-60.89%
$-7,611
Jul 2, 2020
$10.04
$13,000
$7,170
-44.85%
$-5,830
Aug 3, 2020
$10.52
$13,500
$8,012
-40.65%
$-5,488
Sep 2, 2020
$10.60
$14,000
$8,573
-38.76%
$-5,427
Oct 2, 2020
$11.24
$14,500
$9,759
-32.69%
$-4,741
Nov 2, 2020
$11.64
$15,000
$10,607
-29.29%
$-4,393
Dec 2, 2020
$15.08
$15,500
$14,241
-8.12%
$-1,259
Jan 4, 2021
$15.04
$16,000
$14,981
-6.37%
$-1,019
Feb 2, 2021
$15.44
$16,500
$15,879
-3.76%
$-621
Mar 2, 2021
$16.36
$17,000
$17,326
+1.91%
$326
Apr 5, 2021
$16.64
$17,500
$18,443
+5.39%
$943
May 3, 2021
$17.60
$18,000
$20,007
+11.15%
$2,007
Jun 2, 2021
$17.48
$18,500
$20,370
+10.11%
$1,870
Jul 2, 2021
$18.36
$19,000
$22,361
+17.69%
$3,361
Aug 2, 2021
$18.44
$19,500
$22,959
+17.74%
$3,459
Sep 2, 2021
$19.28
$20,000
$24,504
+22.52%
$4,504
Oct 4, 2021
$18.44
$20,500
$24,446
+19.25%
$3,946
Nov 2, 2021
$17.96
$21,000
$24,310
+15.76%
$3,310
Dec 2, 2021
$17.84
$21,500
$24,647
+14.64%
$3,147
Jan 3, 2022
$18.36
$22,000
$26,480
+20.37%
$4,480
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in MFA
Investing $500 per month in MFA Financial, Inc. (MFA) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $57K today. That's +19.7% total return on $48K invested, with a +2.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $23K from reinvested dividends.