The size of a return says nothing without its span.
Two hundred percent over twenty years and two hundred percent over two years are not the same fund. One is a plod. One is a rocket. The total on its own cannot tell you which one you are looking at.
| Fund |
Total return |
Over |
Per year |
| Fund A | 214 pct | 12 yr | 10.0 pct |
| Fund B | 68 pct | 3 yr | 19.0 pct |
Fund A puts the 214 on the poster and stays quiet about the twelve years behind it. Fund B puts the 19 a year on the poster. Read the per year column, the only one on a shared footing, and the loud fund is earning barely half. Same three years, same one lakh, that is Rs 1.33 lakh against Rs 1.69 lakh.