iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (ACWI)

TotalReturn:

'Total return, when measuring performance, is the actual rate of return of an investment or a pool of investments over a given evaluation period. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends and distributions realized over a given period of time. Total return accounts for two categories of return: income including interest paid by fixed-income investments, distributions or dividends and capital appreciation, representing the change in the market price of an asset.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (66%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or increase in value of 36.5% of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (45.6%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value of 36.5% is lower, thus worse.

CAGR:

'The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a useful measure of growth over multiple time periods. It can be thought of as the growth rate that gets you from the initial investment value to the ending investment value if you assume that the investment has been compounding over the time period.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (10.7%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 6.4% of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is 10.9%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 13.3% from the benchmark.

Volatility:

'Volatility is a rate at which the price of a security increases or decreases for a given set of returns. Volatility is measured by calculating the standard deviation of the annualized returns over a given period of time. It shows the range to which the price of a security may increase or decrease. Volatility measures the risk of a security. It is used in option pricing formula to gauge the fluctuations in the returns of the underlying assets. Volatility indicates the pricing behavior of the security and helps estimate the fluctuations that may happen in a short period of time.'

• The 30 days standard deviation over 5 years of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund is 13.4%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (13.4%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation is 11.6%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 12.3% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (14.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 14.6% of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund is greater, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 13.1%, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 13.8% from the benchmark.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio was developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe, and is used to help investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risk. The ratio is the average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of volatility or total risk. Subtracting the risk-free rate from the mean return allows an investor to better isolate the profits associated with risk-taking activities. One intuition of this calculation is that a portfolio engaging in 'zero risk' investments, such as the purchase of U.S. Treasury bills (for which the expected return is the risk-free rate), has a Sharpe ratio of exactly zero. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return.'

• Looking at the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.29 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.61)
• Looking at ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) in of 0.73 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.88).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio improves upon the Sharpe ratio by isolating downside volatility from total volatility by dividing excess return by the downside deviation. The Sortino ratio is a variation of the Sharpe ratio that differentiates harmful volatility from total overall volatility by using the asset's standard deviation of negative asset returns, called downside deviation. The Sortino ratio takes the asset's return and subtracts the risk-free rate, and then divides that amount by the asset's downside deviation. The ratio was named after Frank A. Sortino.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.56) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.27 of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is 0.64, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.78 from the benchmark.

Ulcer:

'The Ulcer Index is a technical indicator that measures downside risk, in terms of both the depth and duration of price declines. The index increases in value as the price moves farther away from a recent high and falls as the price rises to new highs. The indicator is usually calculated over a 14-day period, with the Ulcer Index showing the percentage drawdown a trader can expect from the high over that period. The greater the value of the Ulcer Index, the longer it takes for a stock to get back to the former high.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (3.99 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 6.22 of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 5.11 , which is greater, thus worse than the value of 4.04 from the benchmark.

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown is defined as the peak-to-trough decline of an investment during a specific period. It is usually quoted as a percentage of the peak value. The maximum drawdown can be calculated based on absolute returns, in order to identify strategies that suffer less during market downturns, such as low-volatility strategies. However, the maximum drawdown can also be calculated based on returns relative to a benchmark index, for identifying strategies that show steady outperformance over time.'

• The maximum reduction from previous high over 5 years of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund is -19.5 days, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-19.3 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -19.5 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-19.3 days).

MaxDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Max Drawdown Duration is the worst (the maximum/longest) amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs). Many assume Max DD Duration is the length of time between new highs during which the Max DD (magnitude) occurred. But that isn’t always the case. The Max DD duration is the longest time between peaks, period. So it could be the time when the program also had its biggest peak to valley loss (and usually is, because the program needs a long time to recover from the largest loss), but it doesn’t have to be'

• The maximum days under water over 5 years of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund is 408 days, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (187 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum days under water in of 371 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (139 days).

AveDuration:

'The Average Drawdown Duration is an extension of the Maximum Drawdown. However, this metric does not explain the drawdown in dollars or percentages, rather in days, weeks, or months. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (41 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days under water of 140 days of iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (36 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days under water of 111 days is larger, thus worse.