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Every index's compounded return over three different windows — and the game of the starting point
Published by The Retail Trader · JUL 24, 2026 · Performance Review
The most misleading thing about long-term returns is that they depend entirely on where you started measuring. Here are three different starting points, and their completely different answers — all as of 24 July 2026.
Total return and CAGR:
• Midcap 100 — +123.39% (CAGR 17.43%)
• Nifty 500 — +67.41% (CAGR 10.85%)
• Bank Nifty — +61.82% (CAGR 10.10%)
• Nifty 50 — +49.90% (CAGR 8.43%)
• Sensex — +43.57% (CAGR 7.50%)
Total return and CAGR:
• Midcap 100 — +326.89% (CAGR 15.61%)
• Nifty 500 — +217.03% (CAGR 12.23%)
• Bank Nifty — +203.33% (CAGR 11.73%)
• Nifty 50 — +178.27% (CAGR 10.77%)
• Sensex — +173.56% (CAGR 10.58%)
Worth noting: the Nifty's 10-year CAGR (10.77%) is higher than its 5-year CAGR (8.43%). That means the last five years have been weaker than the ten-year average. For Midcap it is the reverse — 5-year CAGR 17.43%, 10-year 15.61%.
The same numbers, measured from the COVID trough:
• Midcap 100 — +460.67% (CAGR 31.27%)
• Nifty 500 — +267.02% (CAGR 22.78%)
• Bank Nifty — +235.11% (CAGR 21.03%)
• Nifty 50 — +212.31% (CAGR 19.69%)
• Sensex — +192.75% (CAGR 18.48%)
The same index, the same end date — and the CAGR can be anything between 8.43% and 19.69%, just by changing the start date. The Nifty's 'real' long-term return is not any one of these three; they are answers to three different questions.
Whenever anyone says 'the market gave this much return', the very first question should be: since when? Measuring from the 2020 low gives the most attractive number, and it is also the least representative — because starting on that day was only possible in hindsight.
And one thing that is constant across all three windows: the Midcap 100 is ahead of the Nifty 50 in every window. It has the same price in every window too — in our sector risk study, midcap-type volatility is far higher than largecap, and in 2018-19 it lagged for two years in a row.
All figures in this article are computed from The Retail Trader's own daily index database, as of 24 July 2026. Past performance is no indication of the future, and this analysis is for educational purposes only — it is not a buy or sell recommendation.