What are rolling returns?
A single trailing return - “this fund returned X% over 5 years” - is one data point from one start date.
A rolling return recalculates that same annualized return again and again, sliding the start date forward across the fund’s whole history. The result is a range: the worst, median, and best annualized return an investor could actually have gotten for that holding period.
CAGR = (NAVend / NAVstart)1/N − 1
Repeat this for every possible start date in the fund’s history. That full set of CAGR values, not any single one, is the rolling return.
Real example: Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund
Rolling CAGR for Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth, as of 2026-08-28.
CHART
Rolling CAGR by holding period - min, median, max
Each group is one holding-period length. The gap between the bottom and top bar is the range of outcomes an investor could have gotten depending purely on start date.
| Holding period | Min CAGR | Median CAGR | Max CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | -21.3% | 17.4% | 100.1% |
| 3Y | 0.7% | 19.3% | 37.6% |
| 5Y | 4.2% | 19.1% | 33.6% |
| 7Y | 14.2% | 19.3% | 22.3% |
| 10Y | 17.1% | 19.0% | 21.5% |
The 1-year window swings from -21.3% to 100.1%, almost entirely luck of timing. By 10 years it’s 17.1% to 21.5%, a much tighter range.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU A single trailing return tells you what happened to one investor on one timeline. The rolling range tells you what a real range of investors, entering on different dates, actually experienced. Check the rolling spread before judging any fund on one headline number - especially over shorter holding periods, where that spread is widest.
METHODOLOGY Rolling CAGR computed across all valid overlapping windows using the fund’s full NAV history through 2026-08-28, Direct Plan - Growth option. Data: AMFI-disclosed NAV history via Punji. Not investment advice.