Downside Capture Ratio
How well does your fund protect you when markets fall?
What is it?
The Downside Capture Ratio measures how much of a benchmark's decline a fund shared when markets were falling. A Downside Capture of 80 means when the Nifty 50 fell 10%, this fund fell only 8% — it absorbed just 80% of the loss.
A ratio below 100 is good — the fund fell less than the market. A ratio above 100 is bad — the fund suffered more than the market when things went wrong.
This metric is most useful for evaluating defensive or multi-cap funds. Always pair it with Upside Capture to see the full picture of a fund's asymmetric return profile.
Formula
Downside Capture = (Fund return in down markets ÷ Benchmark return in down markets) × 100Down marketsAll periods where the benchmark return was negativeReal Example
Same fund, tracking performance during months when Nifty 50 fell.
Given
Calculation
Downside Capture Ratio = (32 ÷ 40) × 100 = 80
What this means
The fund absorbed only 80% of the market's losses. Combined with an Upside Capture of 115, this fund shows excellent asymmetric performance — capturing more gains and fewer losses than the benchmark.
Good vs Bad Benchmarks
Below 80
Strong downside protection — fund falls much less than the market
80 – 90
Fund falls noticeably less than the market during sell-offs
90 – 100
Slightly better than the market during downturns
Above 100
Fund falls more than the market — poor downside protection
Check this ratio for a real fund
MFLens shows Downside Capture Ratio across 1Y / 3Y / 5Y / 7Y / 10Y rolling windows for every Indian mutual fund.
Rolling metrics on MFLens show how each ratio evolves across all historical windows of the selected period. This provides consistency insights beyond traditional trailing calculations. For informational purposes only — not financial advice.