Max drawdown: how far has this fund fallen, and how long did it take to recover?

Max drawdown is the deepest fall from a previous peak to the lowest point that followed. It answers the question "if I had bought right at the top, what is the most I would have lost?" The chart is in the "Risk" section of the fund page.

Above the chart is a text summary, such as "Max drawdown in the selected period −30.00% · previous peak 4 Jan 2022 (NAV 15.0000) → low 17 Oct 2022 (NAV 10.5000) · back to break-even 12 Mar 2024, a recovery time of 1 year 4 months", and the next line shows how far below its highest NAV the fund is today, in %. The 1Y, 3Y, 5Y and All buttons choose the period used in the calculation.

How it's calculated

1. Drawdown for each day = that day's NAV ÷ the highest NAV before it in the selected period − 1. A day that sets a new peak has a value of 0%
2. Max drawdown = the most negative drawdown. In this example, 10.50 ÷ 15.00 − 1 = −30.00%
3. Break-even = the first day after the low on which the NAV climbs back to the previous peak. Recovery time is counted from the low to that day. If this hasn't happened yet, it shows "Not yet back to break-even"
4. Current = latest NAV ÷ highest NAV ever reached − 1. In this example, 15.60 ÷ 16.20 − 1 ≈ −3.7%

It is calculated from NAV with dividends reinvested, so a fall in NAV caused by a dividend payment is not counted as a loss. When you change the period, the peak is counted afresh from the start of that period, so the 1-year figure can be much smaller than the figure for the whole history.

In the peer comparison card

The "Compared with N funds in its group" card at the top of the fund page has a risk row showing the deepest NAV fall and whether it was deeper or shallower than the median of funds in the same category. That row is not calculated over the period selected on this chart, so the two figures may differ.

Why it helps

• A number you can really feel: 15% volatility is hard to grasp, but "once lost 30% and took 1 year 4 months to recover" paints a clear picture straight away
• See both depth and duration: of two funds that fell by the same amount, the one that recovered faster kept your money stuck for less time
• Know where it stands now: the current figure shows whether the fund is near its peak or still in a hole

How to use it

1. Imagine investing today and then suffering a loss equal to the max drawdown. If you invest 100,000 baht, a 30% loss means seeing 70,000 baht left. If you can't accept that, invest less or choose a fund that has fallen less
2. Compare the recovery time with your goal. If you need the money within 1 year but the fund once took more than 1 year to recover, that money may not have recovered by the time you need it
3. Compare funds in the same category over the same period, such as a 5-year window that went through the same major events
4. Use it together with the worst return by holding period. Drawdown covers the case of buying right at the top, while the worst return shows what happened after holding for the full period