Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in NNI 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+93.8%
Final Value$93.0K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+87.3%
Final Value$89.9K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+81.1%
Final Value$86.9K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap12.7 pp
Your timing vs best-6.5%
Your timing vs worst+6.2%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 10.4%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$21K~1.2x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$39K~1.3x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$102K~1.7x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$377K~3.1x 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~1.3x your money
10 Years~1.7x your money
20 Years~3.1x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$574 est. gain
$8K+$2K est. gain
$20K+$8K est. gain
$75K+$51K est. gain
$250/mo
$10K+$1K est. gain
$19K+$4K est. gain
$51K+$21K est. gain
$188K+$128K est. gain
$500/mo
$21K+$3K est. gain
$39K+$9K est. gain
$102K+$42K est. gain
$377K+$257K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$42K+$6K est. gain
$77K+$17K est. gain
$204K+$84K est. gain
$753K+$513K est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 10.4% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$58.63
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$57.09
$10,500
$10,237
-2.50%
$-263
Mar 2, 2020
$52.37
$11,000
$9,925
-9.77%
$-1,075
Apr 2, 2020
$45.67
$11,500
$9,155
-20.39%
$-2,345
May 4, 2020
$46.63
$12,000
$9,848
-17.93%
$-2,152
Jun 2, 2020
$49.61
$12,500
$11,020
-11.84%
$-1,480
Jul 2, 2020
$53.55
$13,000
$12,395
-4.66%
$-605
Aug 3, 2020
$59.12
$13,500
$14,184
+5.07%
$684
Sep 2, 2020
$66.31
$14,000
$16,458
+17.56%
$2,458
Oct 2, 2020
$63.64
$14,500
$16,295
+12.38%
$1,795
Nov 2, 2020
$61.82
$15,000
$16,329
+8.86%
$1,329
Dec 2, 2020
$68.92
$15,500
$18,763
+21.05%
$3,263
Jan 4, 2021
$69.34
$16,000
$19,378
+21.11%
$3,378
Feb 2, 2021
$71.75
$16,500
$20,551
+24.55%
$4,051
Mar 2, 2021
$73.83
$17,000
$21,711
+27.71%
$4,711
Apr 5, 2021
$74.63
$17,500
$22,446
+28.26%
$4,946
May 3, 2021
$74.92
$18,000
$23,034
+27.96%
$5,034
Jun 2, 2021
$75.72
$18,500
$23,848
+28.91%
$5,348
Jul 2, 2021
$75.35
$19,000
$24,231
+27.53%
$5,231
Aug 2, 2021
$75.01
$19,500
$24,622
+26.27%
$5,122
Sep 2, 2021
$80.87
$20,000
$27,118
+35.59%
$7,118
Oct 4, 2021
$82.81
$20,500
$28,268
+37.89%
$7,768
Nov 2, 2021
$83.21
$21,000
$28,905
+37.64%
$7,905
Dec 2, 2021
$89.24
$21,500
$31,586
+46.91%
$10,086
Jan 3, 2022
$97.27
$22,000
$34,928
+58.76%
$12,928
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in NNI
Investing $500 per month in Nelnet, Inc. (NNI) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $90K today. That's +87.3% total return on $48K invested, with a +10.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $3K from reinvested dividends.