Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in OTTR 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+70.3%
Final Value$81.7K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+64.0%
Final Value$78.7K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+58.2%
Final Value$75.9K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap12.1 pp
Your timing vs best-6.3%
Your timing vs worst+5.8%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 8.1%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$20K~1.1x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$37K~1.2x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$91K~1.5x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$288K~2.4x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.1x your money
5 Years~1.2x your money
10 Years~1.5x your money
20 Years~2.4x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$443 est. gain
$7K+$1K est. gain
$18K+$6K est. gain
$58K+$34K est. gain
$250/mo
$10K+$1K est. gain
$18K+$3K est. gain
$45K+$15K est. gain
$144K+$84K est. gain
$500/mo
$20K+$2K est. gain
$37K+$7K est. gain
$91K+$31K est. gain
$288K+$168K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$40K+$4K est. gain
$73K+$13K est. gain
$181K+$61K est. gain
$577K+$337K est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 8.1% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$51.69
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$54.46
$10,500
$11,036
+5.10%
$536
Mar 2, 2020
$50.00
$11,000
$10,701
-2.72%
$-299
Apr 2, 2020
$43.35
$11,500
$9,778
-14.98%
$-1,722
May 4, 2020
$43.44
$12,000
$10,298
-14.18%
$-1,702
Jun 2, 2020
$42.05
$12,500
$10,564
-15.49%
$-1,936
Jul 2, 2020
$39.26
$13,000
$10,363
-20.28%
$-2,637
Aug 3, 2020
$37.71
$13,500
$10,454
-22.56%
$-3,046
Sep 2, 2020
$38.79
$14,000
$11,352
-18.91%
$-2,648
Oct 2, 2020
$37.05
$14,500
$11,343
-21.77%
$-3,157
Nov 2, 2020
$39.66
$15,000
$12,642
-15.72%
$-2,358
Dec 2, 2020
$40.84
$15,500
$13,638
-12.01%
$-1,862
Jan 4, 2021
$41.72
$16,000
$14,432
-9.80%
$-1,568
Feb 2, 2021
$41.18
$16,500
$14,745
-10.63%
$-1,755
Mar 2, 2021
$41.12
$17,000
$15,360
-9.65%
$-1,640
Apr 5, 2021
$46.55
$17,500
$17,888
+2.22%
$388
May 3, 2021
$47.89
$18,000
$18,903
+5.02%
$903
Jun 2, 2021
$48.30
$18,500
$19,719
+6.59%
$1,219
Jul 2, 2021
$48.39
$19,000
$20,256
+6.61%
$1,256
Aug 2, 2021
$51.15
$19,500
$21,911
+12.37%
$2,411
Sep 2, 2021
$56.14
$20,000
$24,724
+23.62%
$4,724
Oct 4, 2021
$57.22
$20,500
$25,700
+25.36%
$5,200
Nov 2, 2021
$63.00
$21,000
$28,796
+37.12%
$7,796
Dec 2, 2021
$67.33
$21,500
$31,455
+46.30%
$9,955
Jan 3, 2022
$69.62
$22,000
$33,025
+50.11%
$11,025
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in OTTR
Investing $500 per month in Otter Tail Corporation (OTTR) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $79K today. That's +64.0% total return on $48K invested, with a +8.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $6K from reinvested dividends.