Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in STEP 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+92.4%
Final Value$84.7K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+83.5%
Final Value$79.8K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+73.7%
Final Value$76.4K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap18.7 pp
Your timing vs best-8.9%
Your timing vs worst+9.8%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 11.4%/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$40K~1.3x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$107K~1.8x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$423K~3.5x 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~1.8x your money
20 Years~3.5x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$631 est. gain
$8K+$2K est. gain
$21K+$9K est. gain
$85K+$61K est. gain
$250/mo
$11K+$2K est. gain
$20K+$5K est. gain
$54K+$24K est. gain
$212K+$152K est. gain
$500/mo
$21K+$3K est. gain
$40K+$10K est. gain
$107K+$47K est. gain
$423K+$303K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$42K+$6K est. gain
$79K+$19K est. gain
$215K+$95K est. gain
$846K+$606K est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 11.4% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
68 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Sep 16, 2020
$25.00
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Oct 16, 2020
$26.25
$10,500
$11,000
+4.76%
$500
Nov 16, 2020
$28.88
$11,000
$12,602
+14.56%
$1,602
Dec 16, 2020
$32.22
$11,500
$14,560
+26.60%
$3,060
Jan 19, 2021
$38.17
$12,000
$17,748
+47.90%
$5,748
Feb 16, 2021
$39.49
$12,500
$18,862
+50.90%
$6,362
Mar 16, 2021
$33.88
$13,000
$16,682
+28.33%
$3,682
Apr 16, 2021
$33.81
$13,500
$17,186
+27.30%
$3,686
May 17, 2021
$32.04
$14,000
$16,786
+19.90%
$2,786
Jun 16, 2021
$33.17
$14,500
$17,878
+23.30%
$3,378
Jul 16, 2021
$38.91
$15,000
$21,516
+43.44%
$6,516
Aug 16, 2021
$46.93
$15,500
$26,450
+70.65%
$10,950
Sep 16, 2021
$45.92
$16,000
$26,419
+65.12%
$10,419
Oct 18, 2021
$42.97
$16,500
$25,222
+52.86%
$8,722
Nov 16, 2021
$49.29
$17,000
$29,431
+73.12%
$12,431
Dec 16, 2021
$40.57
$17,500
$24,810
+41.77%
$7,310
Jan 18, 2022
$35.73
$18,000
$22,350
+24.17%
$4,350
Feb 16, 2022
$35.89
$18,500
$22,950
+24.05%
$4,450
Mar 16, 2022
$32.99
$19,000
$21,686
+14.14%
$2,686
Apr 18, 2022
$27.33
$19,500
$18,466
-5.30%
$-1,034
May 16, 2022
$24.66
$20,000
$17,162
-14.19%
$-2,838
Jun 16, 2022
$25.50
$20,500
$18,383
-10.33%
$-2,117
Jul 18, 2022
$24.02
$21,000
$17,816
-15.16%
$-3,184
Aug 16, 2022
$30.40
$21,500
$23,048
+7.20%
$1,548
Sep 16, 2022
$27.90
$22,000
$21,808
-0.87%
$-192
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in STEP
Investing $500 per month in StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $80K today. That's +83.5% total return on $44K invested, with a +11.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $5K from reinvested dividends.