1. Trailing returns
Trailing returns are the returns generated over a given period. It can be the year to date (YTD), one year, three years, and so on. These are also called point to point returns. Trailing returns are the most relevant measures to evaluate the performance for a mutual fund. With trailing returns, you can see an excellent 10-year performance but a not so good one-year or five-year performance. The calculation of returns consists of the change in share price over a recent period plus any dividends earned per share over time.2. Features of Trailing returns
Most relevant – Used by mutual funds to publish performance over different time blocks:- Historical data is used for a block of period
- Data is easily present at any point in time
3. Examples of Trailing returns
1.Tax saving ELSS Funds returns till Feb 2018
|
Trailing Return % |
|||
Scheme/Category Name |
3 Months |
1 year |
3 years |
5 Years |
Axis Long Term Equity Fund – Growth |
0.50% |
21.60% |
9.10% |
22.80% |
SBI Magnum Tax gain Scheme 1993 – Regular Plan-Growth |
-2% |
16.40% |
7.10% |
17.10% |
Aditya Birla Sun Life Tax Plan – Regular Plan-Growth Option |
-0.40% |
25.80% |
11.30% |
21.10% |
ICICI Prudential Long Term Equity Fund (Tax Saving) – Growth |
0.30% |
12.50% |
7.60% |
17.80% |
HDFC TaxSaver-Growth Plan |
-3.50% |
17.10% |
8.90% |
18.20% |

4. Rolling returns
Technically speaking, rolling returns are the average annualised returns taken for a given timeframe on every day/week/month and taken till the last day of the duration. It measures the fund’s absolute and relative performance over some time at regular intervals. For example: Between periods at various intervals: Return every three months 2010-2015 or returns every six months from 2008-2018. Rolling returns take several such blocks of 3, 5 or 10-year periods at various intervals and see how the fund has performed over that period which makes this return more indicative of the actual performance of the fund. Due to different periods, the return consistency of the fund over the period can be analysed as it considers both upside and downside market trends. For example, if you have a three-year investment horizon (holding period) and want to see rolling returns of a mutual fund scheme from 1/1/2006 to 1/1/2016, you start by calculating the annualised return from 1/1/2006 to 1/1/2009 (change in NAV between 1/1/2006 to 1/1/2009, annualised). Next, calculate the annualised return from 2/1/2006 to 2/1/2009, then from 3/1/2006 to 3/1/2009, and so on.
5. Advantages of Rolling Returns
- An effective measure to evaluate the performance of mutual funds
- Accurate
- Not biased towards any period
- Provides proper insights to an investor
- Suitable for a recurring (monthly or quarterly) or a SIP investor
- Used for computing the mean return of the mutual fund
6. Examples of Rolling returns in Mutual Funds
A. Small and Mid-Cap Funds – Start date 1 April 2014 – Rolling returns for a period of three years at an interval of three months:
|
Key Parameters (Return %) |
Return Consistency (% of times) |
||||||||
Scheme/Category Name |
Average |
Median |
Maximum |
Minimum |
Less than 0% |
0 – 5% |
5 – 10% |
10 – 15% |
15 – 20% |
Greater than 20% |
Aditya Birla Sun Life Equity Fund – Growth – Regular Plan |
17.72 |
17.24 |
24.98 |
12.33 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10.74 |
76.03 |
13.22 |
SBI Small & Midcap – Regular Plan – Growth |
31.21 |
30.49 |
39.73 |
24.76 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
100 |
HDFC Small Cap Fund – Regular Growth Plan |
21.01 |
21.07 |
26.21 |
16.48 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
25.62 |
74.38 |
Axis Midcap Fund – Growth |
13.77 |
12.7 |
22.51 |
8.59 |
0 |
0 |
8.26 |
68.6 |
10.74 |
12.4 |
ICICI Prudential MidCap Fund – Growth |
18.05 |
16.92 |
29.2 |
11.79 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20.66 |
60.33 |
19.01 |
B. Tax Saving ELSS Funds – Start date 1 April 2014 – Rolling returns for period of 3 years at an interval of 3 months
|
Rolling Return (%) |
Return Consistency (% of times) |
||||||||
Scheme/Category Name |
Average |
Median |
Maximum |
Minimum |
Less than 0% |
0 – 5% |
5 – 10% |
10 – 15% |
15 – 20% |
Greater than 20% |
Axis Long Term Equity Fund – Growth |
15.7 |
14.97 |
22.75 |
8.95 |
0 |
0 |
2.48 |
47.93 |
37.19 |
12.4 |
SBI Magnum Taxgain Scheme 1993 – Regular Plan- Growth |
12.41 |
12.04 |
18.13 |
7.04 |
0 |
0 |
12.4 |
74.38 |
13.22 |
0 |
Aditya Birla Sun Life Tax Plan – Regular Plan – Growth Option |
17.76 |
17.39 |
24.54 |
11.3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13.22 |
71.07 |
15.7 |
ICICI Prudential Long Term Equity Fund (Tax Saving) – Growth |
11.67 |
10.71 |
20.07 |
7.37 |
0 |
0 |
34.71 |
52.07 |
12.4 |
0.83 |
HDFC TaxSaver-Growth Plan |
12.2 |
11.45 |
19.52 |
8.17 |
0 |
0 |
13.22 |
74.38 |
12.4 |
0 |