# Drawdown and return measure different experiences

Read endpoint changes beside the losses inside a holding period, with explicit dates and peak anchors.

## The ending does not describe the journey

An endpoint return compares the last level with the first. Drawdown compares a level with the highest eligible earlier level. A period can finish above its beginning while containing a substantial decline along the way.

A calendar-year change, the loss from a chosen entry and the decline from an interval peak are three distinct quantities. They should not share an unlabeled percentage.

Formula: Endpoint change =100 × (last / first -1). Drawdown =100 × (current / eligible peak -1).

## State where the peak comes from

In an interval study, the peak starts inside the selected interval and advances when a higher retained close occurs. That convention cannot establish a decline from a high that happened before the interval.

Changing the interval can therefore change measured drawdown without changing any source observation. That is a change of question, not a contradiction in the data.

## Keep the measurement basis aligned

A fund’s provider-adjusted close, a company’s split-adjusted price and an annual local-currency research return are not interchangeable. Currency, dividends, costs and observation frequency can change what a comparison means.

Missing closes stay missing. The largest loss observed in an incomplete capture is an observed-record statistic, not proof of the exact intraday loss or a complete exchange calendar.

## Inspect the losses inside the climb

Use the overview’s paired path and drawdown figures, or choose a fund and dates in Period explorer. Inspect an observation and its evidence before comparing it with another study.

Historical examples are descriptive. Their selection, surviving instruments and overlapping windows limit what they can say about future outcomes.

## Related research

- [Open Period explorer](/explore/)
- [Find a figure](/contents/)
- [Recovery after a decline](/learn/how-long-to-recover/)