TRAILING RETURNS:

They indicate the performance of an instrument, and are usually used to assess the performance of mutual funds over 1year, 3year, 5year, yeartodate since inception. It helps compare the performance of two instruments over similar duration. So, if the current NAVs (net asset values) of fund A and fund B are Rs 20 and Rs 18 and were Rs 15 and Rs 12 five years ago, the 5year trailing return is 33.33 per cent for fund A and 50 per cent for fund B. Trailing returns give information beyond what a fund’s NAV indicates.