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Market Intelligence › Basic Terminologies
Why looking only at the names that survived inflates your estimate of returns
Published by The Retail Trader · JUL 28, 2026 · Advisory & Research
Any list contains only the companies that have survived to today. The ones that shut down, merged or were delisted are missing from the list, and their absence changes the whole calculation.
If you calculate the ten-year-old return of today's index members, it will look very good, because the only names in the index today are the ones that did well.
The losses of the names that dropped out along the way never enter that calculation. So this estimate always looks better than the real experience.
This bias is not limited to indices:
• The average return of a mutual fund category does not include funds that have closed.
• Trading course testimonials do not include the people who quit.
• Screener results contain only companies that are listed today.
• Screenshots of losses simply do not get shared on social media.
Whenever you see an impressive number, ask one question: who is not in this sample. In most cases the people who are missing are exactly the ones whose experience would be closest to yours.
This article is for educational purposes only. It is not a buy or sell recommendation, not a claim of guaranteed returns, and not advice. Rules, rates and mechanics change from time to time at the exchanges, SEBI and the RBI, so verify every number yourself with your broker or an official source.