Ask for two numbers, not one. The size and the span.
A return you cannot annualise is a return you cannot judge. Before comparing a single rupee, get both funds speaking the same language.
01
Put both on the same basis first. Total return and per year are different languages. A total over twelve years and a total over three cannot even be compared until both are annualised.
02
The louder number is usually the one chosen to sound loud. An old fund quotes the giant lifetime total. A hot young one quotes the punchy per year. Same trick, pointed opposite ways.
03
Once they match on basis, read the span too. Nineteen a year over three years is a small sample. Ten a year over twelve is a longer record. Same basis and same length, then judge.
A return has two halves. How much, and how long. Quote one without the other and you can make almost anything look like almost anything. Ask for both.
See returns lined up on the same footing.
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