What Are Rolling Returns?

Rolling return analysis measures how an investment performed over the same holding period but with different investment start dates. Instead of evaluating one lucky or unlucky investment period, rolling returns analyse every possible historical investment journey, providing a more complete picture of historical performance.

Why Rolling Returns Matter

Two investors can stay invested for exactly the same number of years and still earn very different returns simply because they started at different points in market history. Rolling return analysis removes this start-date bias by evaluating every possible investment period instead of relying on a single historical example.

What This Animation Demonstrates

Each dot represents one historical investor who remained invested for the selected holding period. As the animation progresses, the investment window moves forward through history, gradually revealing the complete distribution of historical outcomes rather than a single return figure.

How Rolling Returns Help Investors

Rolling return analysis helps investors understand how an investment has historically performed across every possible starting date instead of relying on a single historical period. By examining the full range of historical outcomes, investors can better appreciate how returns have varied over time and make more informed comparisons between funds and investment strategies.

Historical NAV data is sourced from AMFI. This animation illustrates the rolling return methodology used throughout EquityVoyage.