Drawdown Recovery
Losses and gains are not symmetric. A 50% loss needs a 100% gain just to break even - and beyond that, the required gain grows faster than most intuition expects.
Gain needed to break even: 100.0%
| Loss | Gain needed |
|---|---|
| −10% | +11.1% |
| −25% | +33.3% |
| −50% | +100.0% |
| −75% | +300.0% |
| −90% | +900.0% |
How this is calculated
gain needed = loss ÷ (100 − loss). A −90% account needs +900% to return to start.
When this fails: this is pure arithmetic, not a forecast. It shows the mountain, not whether you can climb it.