when choosing two random points on a price chart it is often possible to hand select two price points at which prices are identical in this case the holding period return between these points will be unchanged however this will not take into account the range of peak to trough price movements that is to say an investor s return excluding fees and expenses is unchanged but the security price likely moved around quite dramatically between those two points 
examples of unchangedfor example say west texas intermediate crude known as wti traded at precisely 70 32 at two particular market closes in both october 2008 and may 2018 the holding period return between these two points in time is unchanged this may be useful to know for an investor who held a long term futures contract during this precise time frame the peak to trough price of oil moved dramatically between these two points in time however as did underlying supply and demand conditions wti prices soon crashed to less than 40 in january 2009 amid the great recession climbed back above 100 a barrel in may 2011 then roughly moved sideways until july 2014 then prices plunged below 30 in february 2016 as shale oil extraction lifted inventories before finally getting back to 70 in may 2018 as those inventories ebbed and inflation began to creep higher 1 through all these gyrations the holding period return excluding fees and expenses is still unchanged 