SWP Performance: A Real Historical Withdrawal Backtest
Would a fixed monthly withdrawal have outlasted the corpus? Test it against real historical NAV.
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Pick a fund, an initial lumpsum, and a monthly withdrawal amount. This tool replays real historical NAV to show whether the corpus would genuinely have lasted, and what it would be worth today, a common retirement-income question.
Figures shown are a backtest computed from the fund's actual published NAV history for the period you selected, not an assumed rate of return. Past performance is not a guarantee, promise, or assurance of future results, and a different date range or fund can produce a very different outcome. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing.
Why an SWP Backtest Matters
Anyone drawing a regular income from a mutual fund investment, most commonly in retirement, faces a risk that's easy to miss in a simple assumed-return model: sequencing risk. If poor returns happen to land in the early years of withdrawal, the corpus can be depleted years faster than an average-return projection would suggest, even if the fund's long-term average return is perfectly healthy.
A backtest on real historical NAV is one of the few honest ways to see this risk directly, because it shows you exactly what would have happened if you'd started withdrawing at a specific point in real market history, corrections and all.
How the Backtest Is Calculated
You choose a fund, an initial lumpsum, a fixed monthly withdrawal amount, and a date range. The tool replays the fund's real historical NAV, redeeming the exact rupee withdrawal at each month's actual NAV, and tracks the remaining corpus month by month. If the corpus is depleted before the end date, the tool shows exactly when that happened; if it survives, it shows the final remaining value and the annualised return actually delivered.
How to Use This Tool
Pick a category, fund house, and scheme, then enter your starting lumpsum, monthly withdrawal amount, and the period you want to test. Try the same scenario starting in a few different years, particularly one just before a known market downturn, to see how sensitive the outcome is to the starting point. That sensitivity is the real lesson an SWP backtest teaches.
What This Backtest Doesn't Account For
This tool models one fund, one withdrawal amount, and one date range in isolation. A real retirement income plan typically draws from a diversified portfolio, adjusts the withdrawal amount over time for inflation, and accounts for other income sources, none of which a single-fund backtest captures. Treat this as a way to understand sequencing risk conceptually, not as a complete retirement income plan on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to the questions we hear most often. No hedging, no ambiguity.
Contact for specific questionsAn SWP lets an investor put in a lumpsum and withdraw a fixed amount every month, redeeming units at that month's NAV. It's commonly used to generate a regular income stream from an existing investment, for example in retirement.
If markets fall in the early years of withdrawal, the corpus can deplete faster than expected even if long-run average returns look healthy, because you're forced to redeem more units at depressed prices early on. Two SWPs with identical long-term average returns can have completely different outcomes depending purely on when the downturn happened.
It means that, for the specific fund, amount, withdrawal rate, and date range you entered, the historical NAV path would not have supported the withdrawals for the full period. That's a real historical outcome for that exact scenario, not a general verdict on the fund; changing the withdrawal amount, start date, or fund category can produce a very different result.
No. Use it to understand sequencing risk and stress-test a withdrawal rate against real market history, but your actual withdrawal plan should also account for your full portfolio, other income sources, and life expectancy, which is exactly what a conversation with our team covers.
Figures shown are illustrative projections based on historical data and assumed rates of return. They are not a guarantee, promise, or assurance of future performance. Actual returns will vary. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing.
Our Team's Credentials
AMFI MF Distributor (2823) & MF/SIF Distributor (300788)
CFP Certification, FPSB India
MDRT (6x): Rekha Guliani
LUTCF, The American College of Insurance
Chairman Club, ICICI Prudential MF
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Planning a Withdrawal Strategy for Real Income?
A backtest shows one scenario. Talk to a member of our credentialed team to build a withdrawal plan around your full portfolio and life expectancy.
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