Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in SWIM 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+4.1%
Final Value$42.1K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return-9.1%
Final Value$36.3K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return-20.9%
Final Value$32.0K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap25.0 pp
Your timing vs best-13.2%
Your timing vs worst+11.8%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of -1.9%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$18K~1.0x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$30K~1.0x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$60K~1.0x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$120K~1.0x 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~1.0x your money
10 Years~1.0x your money
20 Years~1.0x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$0 est. gain
$6K+$0 est. gain
$12K+$0 est. gain
$24K+$0 est. gain
$250/mo
$9K+$0 est. gain
$15K+$0 est. gain
$30K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$500/mo
$18K+$0 est. gain
$30K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$120K+$0 est. gain
$1,000/mo
$36K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$120K+$0 est. gain
$240K+$0 est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of -1.9% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
61 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Apr 23, 2021
$27.25
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
May 24, 2021
$29.59
$10,500
$11,359
+8.18%
$859
Jun 23, 2021
$30.80
$11,000
$12,323
+12.03%
$1,323
Jul 23, 2021
$28.31
$11,500
$11,827
+2.84%
$327
Aug 23, 2021
$21.57
$12,000
$9,511
-20.74%
$-2,489
Sep 23, 2021
$17.80
$12,500
$8,349
-33.21%
$-4,151
Oct 25, 2021
$15.88
$13,000
$7,948
-38.86%
$-5,052
Nov 23, 2021
$23.01
$13,500
$12,017
-10.99%
$-1,483
Dec 23, 2021
$24.56
$14,000
$13,326
-4.81%
$-674
Jan 24, 2022
$15.94
$14,500
$9,149
-36.90%
$-5,351
Feb 23, 2022
$15.36
$15,000
$9,316
-37.89%
$-5,684
Mar 23, 2022
$14.52
$15,500
$9,307
-39.96%
$-6,193
Apr 25, 2022
$12.50
$16,000
$8,512
-46.80%
$-7,488
May 23, 2022
$9.41
$16,500
$6,908
-58.13%
$-9,592
Jun 23, 2022
$7.19
$17,000
$5,778
-66.01%
$-11,222
Jul 25, 2022
$5.78
$17,500
$5,145
-70.60%
$-12,355
Aug 23, 2022
$6.13
$18,000
$5,957
-66.91%
$-12,043
Sep 23, 2022
$4.09
$18,500
$4,474
-75.81%
$-14,026
Oct 24, 2022
$4.05
$19,000
$4,931
-74.05%
$-14,069
Nov 23, 2022
$3.62
$19,500
$4,907
-74.84%
$-14,593
Dec 23, 2022
$3.12
$20,000
$4,729
-76.35%
$-15,271
Jan 23, 2023
$3.68
$20,500
$6,078
-70.35%
$-14,422
Feb 23, 2023
$3.17
$21,000
$5,736
-72.69%
$-15,264
Mar 23, 2023
$2.66
$21,500
$5,304
-75.33%
$-16,196
Apr 24, 2023
$2.33
$22,000
$5,155
-76.57%
$-16,845
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in SWIM
Investing $500 per month in Latham Group, Inc. (SWIM) over the past 5 years would be worth approximately $36K today. That's -9.1% total return on $40K invested, with a -1.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).