Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in MS 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+212.3%
Final Value$149.9K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+199.1%
Final Value$143.6K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+185.1%
Final Value$136.9K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap27.1 pp
Your timing vs best-13.2%
Your timing vs worst+14.0%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 18.9%/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$47K~1.6x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$160K~2.7x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$1.1M~8.8x 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~1.6x your money
10 Years~2.7x your money
20 Years~8.8x your money
$100/mo
$5K+$1K est. gain
$9K+$3K est. gain
$32K+$20K est. gain
$212K+$188K est. gain
$250/mo
$12K+$3K est. gain
$24K+$9K est. gain
$80K+$50K est. gain
$529K+$469K est. gain
$500/mo
$23K+$5K est. gain
$47K+$17K est. gain
$160K+$100K est. gain
$1.1M+$939K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$47K+$11K est. gain
$95K+$35K est. gain
$319K+$199K est. gain
$2.1M+$1.9M est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 18.9% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$52.04
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$52.60
$10,500
$10,673
+1.65%
$173
Mar 2, 2020
$46.48
$11,000
$9,931
-9.71%
$-1,069
Apr 2, 2020
$33.90
$11,500
$7,743
-32.67%
$-3,757
May 4, 2020
$38.09
$12,000
$9,275
-22.71%
$-2,725
Jun 2, 2020
$45.58
$12,500
$11,599
-7.21%
$-901
Jul 2, 2020
$47.79
$13,000
$12,662
-2.60%
$-338
Aug 3, 2020
$49.46
$13,500
$13,698
+1.46%
$198
Sep 2, 2020
$53.25
$14,000
$15,247
+8.91%
$1,247
Oct 2, 2020
$47.97
$14,500
$14,235
-1.82%
$-265
Nov 2, 2020
$49.38
$15,000
$15,260
+1.74%
$260
Dec 2, 2020
$64.02
$15,500
$20,285
+30.87%
$4,785
Jan 4, 2021
$68.33
$16,000
$23,587
+47.42%
$7,587
Feb 2, 2021
$70.95
$16,500
$25,115
+52.21%
$8,615
Mar 2, 2021
$80.79
$17,000
$29,098
+71.16%
$12,098
Apr 5, 2021
$78.00
$17,500
$28,593
+63.39%
$11,093
May 3, 2021
$82.46
$18,000
$30,855
+71.41%
$12,855
Jun 2, 2021
$92.76
$18,500
$35,209
+90.32%
$16,709
Jul 2, 2021
$92.03
$19,000
$35,432
+86.48%
$16,432
Aug 2, 2021
$96.23
$19,500
$37,818
+93.94%
$18,318
Sep 2, 2021
$104.83
$20,000
$41,698
+108.49%
$21,698
Oct 4, 2021
$97.15
$20,500
$39,143
+90.94%
$18,643
Nov 2, 2021
$104.66
$21,000
$42,957
+104.56%
$21,957
Dec 2, 2021
$98.86
$21,500
$41,076
+91.05%
$19,576
Jan 3, 2022
$100.19
$22,000
$42,129
+91.49%
$20,129
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in MS
Investing $500 per month in Morgan Stanley (MS) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $144K today. That's +199.1% total return on $48K invested, with a +18.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $12K from reinvested dividends.