Drawdown
Drawdown recovery
What it takes to get back to even
Losses and recoveries are not symmetrical. Enter a drawdown to see the gain required to return to your starting balance — and roughly how long that takes.
Inputs
Your drawdown
Results
Recovery required
Gain needed+42.9%
Balance after loss$7,000
Amount lost−$3,000
Time to recoverAt the assumed annual return2.6 yrs
Reference
Loss vs gain needed
−5% drawdown+5.3% to recover
−10% drawdown+11.1% to recover
−20% drawdown+25.0% to recover
−30% drawdown+42.9% to recover
−40% drawdown+66.7% to recover
−50% drawdown+100.0% to recover
−60% drawdown+150.0% to recover
−70% drawdown+233.3% to recover
−80% drawdown+400.0% to recover
−90% drawdown+900.0% to recover
How it works
The maths
Recovery is measured from the reduced balance, so every extra percent lost costs disproportionately more to win back.
remaining = start × (1 − loss) gain needed = 1 ÷ (1 − loss) − 1 years = ln(1 ÷ (1 − loss)) ÷ ln(1 + annual return)
FAQ
Drawdown — frequently asked questions
Because the gain is measured against a smaller base. Losing half of $10,000 leaves $5,000, and turning $5,000 back into $10,000 is a 100% move. This asymmetry is why capital preservation matters more than chasing returns.
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Learn the concept
What is drawdown?
Drawdown is the fall from an account's peak to its trough. Learn why recovery is asymmetric and how much a 50% loss really costs you.
Educational tool. Not financial advice. More tools