Mutual fund drawdown: past falls and recovery
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Your funds · ₹5 L at the peak
Large cap fund, Flexi cap fund, Small cap fund
Your funds up to 3
- Fund ALarge cap fundLarge cap · Example
- Fund BFlexi cap fundFlexi cap · Example
- Fund CSmall cap fundSmall cap · Example
These are example funds. Adding your own fund replaces them.
Used only on this page and in the share link.
Pick a crash
Example funds, live NAV dataExample: a large cap, a flexi cap and a small cap fund. Search to use your own.
The Nifty 50 TRI fell 38.2% from 14 Jan 2020 to 23 Mar 2020, and took 8 months to regain its peak.
Flexi cap fund fell 2.9 points more than the Nifty 500 TRI. ₹5 L at the peak would have been ₹2.99 L at the bottom, and took 8 months to get back.
Past falls do not predict future ones.
- Fund ALarge cap fundDirect plan, growth · 14 Jan 2020 to 23 Mar 2020 (2 months down)
- Fall
- −39.1%
- ₹5 L became
- ₹3.04 L
- Back to peak
- 9 mo
Benchmark: Nifty 100 TRI fell 37.0%, back to peak in 8 months
- Fund BFlexi cap fundDirect plan, growth · 14 Jan 2020 to 23 Mar 2020 (2 months down)
- Fall
- −40.2%
- ₹5 L became
- ₹2.99 L
- Back to peak
- 8 mo
Benchmark: Nifty 500 TRI fell 37.3%, back to peak in 8 months
- Fund CSmall cap fundDirect plan, growth · 20 Feb 2020 to 24 Mar 2020 (33 days down)
- Fall
- −36.6%
- ₹5 L became
- ₹3.17 L
- Back to peak
- 5 mo
Benchmark: Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI fell 42.4%, back to peak in 8 months
- MarketNifty 50 TRI14 Jan 2020 to 23 Mar 2020 (2 months down)
- Fall
- −38.2%
- ₹5 L became
- ₹3.09 L
- Back to peak
- 8 mo
Tick on a bar: how far that fund's benchmark fell.
Fall = peak NAV to lowest NAV inside the crash window. Fund figures use the growth option of the direct plan, or the regular plan where the crash came before direct plans began in 2013. Benchmarks are total return indices, tracked through a low-cost index fund on each index. NAVs to 30 Oct 2026. Past falls do not predict future ones.
Every crash at a glance
Fall from peak to bottom| Crash | Nifty 50 TRI peak to bottom | Fund ALarge cap fund | Fund BFlexi cap fund | Fund CSmall cap fund | Nifty 50 TRIMarket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2008 to Oct 2008 | −56.9% | −59.9% | −74.7% | −58.8% | |
| Mar 2015 to Feb 2016 | −21.9% | −26.8% | −19.3% | −21.7% | |
| Jan 2020 to Mar 2020 | −39.1% | −40.2% | −36.6% | −38.2% | |
| Oct 2021 to Jun 2022 | −14.4% | −12.9% | −20.0% | −16.6% | |
| Deepest fall on recordSince the first NAV in Kalpi's data | −56.9%Jan 2008 to Oct 2008 | −59.9%Jan 2008 to Mar 2009 | −74.7%Jan 2008 to Mar 2009 | −58.8%Jan 2008 to Oct 2008 |
Direct plan growth NAV from 2013; regular plan growth NAV for 2008 and for history before 2013. Kalpi's NAV data starts in April 2006, so “on record” means since then or since launch. First NAV used: Fund A 9 Aug 2007, Fund B 3 Apr 2006, Fund C 20 Jun 2007.
Run the same test on your whole portfolio
Upload your CAS and Kalpi stress-tests every fund you hold together: how the mix would have done in 2008, in the 2020 crash and in a 25% fall, plus a portfolio health score and fund overlap. How Kalpi handles your data
What is drawdown in a mutual fund?
Drawdown is the drop in a fund's NAV from a previous high to a later low, shown as a percentage. Maximum drawdown is the deepest such drop over a period. It answers a plain question: if you had invested at the worst possible moment, how much would your investment have fallen before it started to recover?
A drawdown is a fall you would have lived through on paper, not your return over the full period. A fund can fall 40% in a crash and still end the decade well ahead, which is why this page also shows how long each fund took to get back to its earlier high.
How the crash test calculates it
For each crash, we take the fund's highest NAV before the market fell and its lowest NAV during the fall. The fall is the gap between the two. Recovery time runs from the low until the NAV first closes back at the earlier high. The same is done for the fund's benchmark total return index, so you can see whether the fund fell more or less than its market.
Fall = (lowest NAV ÷ NAV at the earlier peak) − 1 · Value at bottom = amount × (1 + fall)
Each crash is a fixed window around the Nifty 50's fall (listed below). Inside the window we find each fund's own peak and low, which can differ by days or weeks from the index. Fund figures use the NAV of the direct plan's growth option where it existed; direct plans began in January 2013, so the 2008 figures use the regular plan's growth NAV. A fund that had no NAV at the start of a window shows “Launched after this crash” and is never filled in from its category.
Benchmarks follow SEBI's benchmark family for each category, such as the Nifty 100 TRI for large cap funds and the Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI for small cap funds. Index figures follow a low-cost index fund that tracks the index, so they include its small yearly cost (about 0.2–0.5%).The Nifty 50 TRI goes back to 2006; the Nifty 100, 500, Midcap 150 and Smallcap 250 series start in late 2019, so for older crashes those benchmarks show “–”. To see how a fund did against its index over every period, try the fund vs benchmark checker or the rolling returns calculator.
The crashes we test
| Crash | Nifty 50 peak to bottom | Nifty 50 fall | Nifty 50 TRI in Kalpi's data | Window searched |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global financial crisis | Jan 2008 (6,287) to Oct 2008 (2,524) | 59.9% | Fell 58.8%, back to peak in 23 months | Dec 2007 to Mar 2009 |
| 2015–16 commodity slump | Mar 2015 (8,996) to Feb 2016 (6,825) | 24.1% | Fell 21.7%, back to peak in 6 months | Feb 2015 to Mar 2016 |
| 2020 COVID crash | Jan 2020 (12,430) to Mar 2020 (7,511) | 39.6% | Fell 38.2%, back to peak in 8 months | Dec 2019 to Apr 2020 |
| 2021–22 correction | Oct 2021 (above 18,500) to Jun 2022 (below 15,200) | about 18% | Fell 16.6%, back to peak in 5 months | Sep 2021 to Jul 2022 |
Peak, bottom and fall columns: Nifty 50 price index, intraday levels. Sources: NISM, “Key lessons from 30 years of Nifty market crashes” (2008, 2015–16, 2020) and Kotak Mutual Fund, “The bull and bear moves of Indian markets since 2020” (2021–22). The TRI column is computed from daily data and includes dividends. Index figures follow a low-cost index fund that tracks the index, so they include its small yearly cost (about 0.2–0.5%).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is drawdown in a mutual fund?
Drawdown is how much a fund’s NAV dropped from a previous high to a later low, shown as a percentage. If the NAV went from 100 to 65, the drawdown was 35%. It shows the size of a fall you would have lived through, not your return over the full period.
What is maximum drawdown?
Maximum drawdown is the deepest peak-to-bottom fall in a fund’s NAV over a chosen period, such as since launch or the last 10 years. It is the worst loss an investor who bought at the top and held through the bottom would have seen on paper. The crash test shows it as “Deepest fall on record” for each fund.
How much did mutual funds fall in the 2020 crash?
The Nifty 50 price index fell about 40% from its January 2020 high to its March 2020 low. In Kalpi's data, which includes dividends, the Nifty 50 TRI fell 38.2%, the Nifty Midcap 150 TRI 37.2% and the Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI 42.4% from their highs to their March 2020 lows. Equity funds fell by different amounts depending on what they held; pick your funds above to see each one’s fall and how long it took to recover.
How long do mutual funds take to recover after a crash?
It has varied widely. In Kalpi's data the Nifty 50 TRI took about 8 months to regain its peak after the 2020 crash and about 23 months after the 2008 crisis. Individual funds can be faster or slower than their index, and future recoveries may differ from any of these.
How is drawdown calculated?
Divide the lowest NAV by the highest NAV before it, then subtract 1. A peak NAV of 80 and a low of 52 gives 52 ÷ 80 − 1 = −35%. Recovery time is counted from the low until the NAV closes back at the earlier peak.
Why compare a fund’s fall with its benchmark?
A fund that fell 35% when its index fell 40% held up better than its market, while one that fell 45% fell harder. Comparing with the benchmark separates what the market did from what the fund's own choices did. The fund vs benchmark checker compares returns with the index over longer periods.
Do small cap funds fall more than large cap funds?
In past crashes, small cap indices have usually fallen further than large cap indices, because smaller companies tend to swing more. In 2020 the Nifty 100 TRI fell 37.0% and the Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI 42.4%; in 2021–22 they fell 16.8% and 26.8%. Individual funds vary, so check the specific funds you hold rather than relying on the category alone.
Does a smaller past fall mean a fund is safer?
Not on its own. A smaller fall in one crash can come from what the fund happened to hold then, and the next crash may hit different stocks. Past falls are one input to understanding risk, alongside what the fund holds and how it invests.
Does the crash test include dividends?
Yes. It uses the NAV of each fund’s growth option, which keeps dividends inside the fund, and the benchmark’s total return index, which adds dividends back. Index levels quoted in the text are price index levels, which exclude dividends.
Do I need to share any personal details?
No. The tool needs no login, PAN or email. It only uses the funds you pick and the amount you choose, and those sit in the page link so you can share the result. To run a similar test on everything you hold, you can upload your CAS to Kalpi's portfolio analyser.
For education only. This tool shows how funds behaved in past market falls; past falls and recoveries do not predict future ones, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or switch any fund. Falls are based on the NAV of the growth option and benchmark total return indices; index levels quoted in the text are price index levels.