iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF (ACWV)

TotalReturn:

'The total return on a portfolio of investments takes into account not only the capital appreciation on the portfolio, but also the income received on the portfolio. The income typically consists of interest, dividends, and securities lending fees. This contrasts with the price return, which takes into account only the capital gain on an investment.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (77.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or performance of 56% of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the total return is 40.3%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 51.7% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the annual return (CAGR) of 9.3% in the last 5 years of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.1%)
• Compared with SPY (14.9%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 12% is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (13.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the volatility of 9.4% of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is smaller, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation is 8.1%, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 13% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

'Downside risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference. Risk measures typically quantify the downside risk, whereas the standard deviation (an example of a deviation risk measure) measures both the upside and downside risk. Specifically, downside risk in our definition is the semi-deviation, that is the standard deviation of all negative returns.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (9.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 6.7% of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is smaller, thus better.
• Looking at downside deviation in of 5.8% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (9.4%).

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio (also known as the Sharpe index, the Sharpe measure, and the reward-to-variability ratio) is a way to examine the performance of an investment by adjusting for its risk. The ratio measures the excess return (or risk premium) per unit of deviation in an investment asset or a trading strategy, typically referred to as risk, named after William F. Sharpe.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.72) in the period of the last 5 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.73 of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is larger, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) is 1.17, which is higher, thus better than the value of 0.96 from the benchmark.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio, a variation of the Sharpe ratio only factors in the downside, or negative volatility, rather than the total volatility used in calculating the Sharpe ratio. The theory behind the Sortino variation is that upside volatility is a plus for the investment, and it, therefore, should not be included in the risk calculation. Therefore, the Sortino ratio takes upside volatility out of the equation and uses only the downside standard deviation in its calculation instead of the total standard deviation that is used in calculating the Sharpe ratio.'

• Looking at the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 1.02 in the last 5 years of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (1)
• Compared with SPY (1.32) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 1.65 is greater, thus better.

Ulcer:

'Ulcer Index is a method for measuring investment risk that addresses the real concerns of investors, unlike the widely used standard deviation of return. UI is a measure of the depth and duration of drawdowns in prices from earlier highs. Using Ulcer Index instead of standard deviation can lead to very different conclusions about investment risk and risk-adjusted return, especially when evaluating strategies that seek to avoid major declines in portfolio value (market timing, dynamic asset allocation, hedge funds, etc.). The Ulcer Index was originally developed in 1987. Since then, it has been widely recognized and adopted by the investment community. According to Nelson Freeburg, editor of Formula Research, Ulcer Index is “perhaps the most fully realized statistical portrait of risk there is.'

• The Ulcer Index over 5 years of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is 3.39 , which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (3.97 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Ulcer Index in of 2.54 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (4.1 ).

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 Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is -11.2 days, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-19.3 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley is -10.1 days, which is greater, thus better than the value of -19.3 days from the benchmark.

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) in days.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (187 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days under water of 223 days of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (139 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 157 days is larger, thus worse.

AveDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. 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 (42 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 52 days of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is greater, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (37 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 33 days is lower, thus better.