Absolute return 1Y represents the absolute growth in the funds NAV over a horizon of 12 months. For a return metric spanning over 12 months, the absolute figure equals the annualised figure.
Formula = (Ending NAV - beginning NAV) / (Beginning NAV)
For example : Following are the NAVs of fund A on different dates -
31st March 2020 : 100
30th June 2020 : 105
30th September 2020 : 125
31st December 2020 : 135
31st March 2021 : 120
Returns as of 31st March 2021 would be -
Absolute return 3M = (120-135)/135 = - 11.11%
Absolute return 6M = (120-125)/125 = - 4%
Absolute return 1Y = (120-100)/100 = 20%
As we can see that time is not being used as a variable in the formula, that makes these returns absolute.