Drawdown Recovery Calculator
Losses are heavier than they look.
See how much a portfolio must gain to get back to even after a loss, and how long that could take at an assumed rate of return.
- Free, no sign-up
- Runs in your browser
- Shareable results
- Educational only
The fall and the comeback.
A 30% fall means the value drops by 30%.
Recovery time assumes a steady return with no new deposits. These are hypothetical assumptions for learning, not forecasts or expected results for any investment.
Result
The climb back gets steeper.
View the detailed table
What the numbers mean.
The maths is uneven.
A 50% fall needs a 100% gain to recover. The deeper the loss, the faster the required gain grows.
Time is a cost.
Even at a healthy return, recovering from a large fall can take years. That is why avoiding deep losses matters for people drawing on their money.
Withdrawals make it harder.
If you withdraw money during a downturn, you sell at low prices and have less left to recover. This model assumes no withdrawals.
About this drawdown recovery calculator.
A drawdown recovery calculator shows how much a portfolio must gain to get back to even after a fall. Enter the value before the fall, the size of the drawdown as a percentage and the yearly return you assume afterwards. The calculator shows the gain needed, the loss in money and how many years the recovery could take with no new money.
The surprise is that the gain needed is always larger than the loss, because the gain applies to a smaller base. To understand how markets fall and recover, read what is a market correction and bear markets explained. The glossary entry on drawdown gives the definition. For sizing risk before a loss happens, use the position size calculator.
How the drawdown recovery calculator works in practice.
A $100,000 portfolio falls 30%, a bear-market-sized fall, and you assume 7% a year afterwards.
Gain needed to get back to even: 42.86%
Recovery multiple needed: 1.43x
Time to recover at 7% a year: about 5.3 years (63 months)
The formula is 1 ÷ (1 − fall) − 1. A 50% fall needs a 100% gain and about 10.2 years at 7%, and a 70% fall needs a 233.33% gain and about 17.8 years. The deeper the loss, the harder the climb, which is why many investors pay close attention to limiting large losses.
How to choose your inputs.
Portfolio value before the fall. The value at the peak, before the loss.
Drawdown. The fall from the peak, as a percentage. A drop from 100 to 70 is 30.
Assumed yearly return during recovery. The return you assume after the fall. A higher return shortens the recovery.
How the drawdown recovery calculator works.
The calculator finds the multiple that restores the old value, then converts it to a percentage gain and a time at your assumed return.
Value after the fall = value × (1 − fall)
Years to recover = ln(1 ÷ (1 − fall)) ÷ ln(1 + return)
Real recoveries are uneven and can be much faster or slower than a steady return implies.
Limits of this drawdown recovery calculator.
The calculator assumes a steady yearly return and no new deposits or withdrawals. Real recoveries are uneven and can take much longer or shorter, and withdrawals during a downturn make recovery harder. Treat the time shown as an illustration, not a prediction.
Common questions about the drawdown recovery calculator.
Why is the gain needed bigger than the loss?
Because after a loss you have less money, so the same percentage gain adds less. Recovering needs a bigger percentage on the smaller base.
What is a drawdown?
The fall from a portfolio’s peak to a later low, usually shown as a percentage.
Is a 10% fall unusual?
Falls of around ten percent, often called corrections, have happened fairly regularly in stock markets. They are not predictions.
Does this include new contributions?
No. New savings would shorten the time to recover.
Why does a 50% loss need a 100% gain?
After losing half, you hold half as much. Doubling that smaller amount is the only way to get back to the start.
What is the formula for recovery gain?
Gain needed = 1 ÷ (1 − loss) − 1, with the loss written as a decimal. For a 30% loss that is 1 ÷ 0.70 − 1 = 42.86%.
How long does it take to recover from a loss?
It depends on the return you earn afterwards. The calculator estimates the time at a yearly return you choose, with no new money added.
More calculators.
Educational illustration only, not a forecast. Real recoveries vary widely, and this model assumes a steady return and no withdrawals or deposits.
Further learning: What is a market correction? · Bear markets explained · Glossary: Drawdown · Investor.gov: Financial tools and calculators · Research methodology · Financial disclaimer