iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF (ACWV)

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (88%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or performance of 52.2% of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (39.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or performance of 19.7% is lower, thus worse.

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (13.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 6.2%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 11.7% from the benchmark.

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

• Looking at the historical 30 days volatility of 14.2% in the last 5 years of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (18.8%)
• During the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation is 16.8%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 22.3% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

'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 (13.7%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 10.4% of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is lower, thus better.
• Looking at downside risk in of 12.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (16.5%).

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio is the measure of risk-adjusted return of a financial portfolio. Sharpe ratio is a measure of excess portfolio return over the risk-free rate relative to its standard deviation. Normally, the 90-day Treasury bill rate is taken as the proxy for risk-free rate. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe ratio is considered superior relative to its peers. The measure was named after William F Sharpe, a Nobel laureate and professor of finance, emeritus at Stanford University.'

• Looking at the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.44 in the last 5 years of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.58)
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 0.22 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.41).

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.'

• Looking at the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.61 in the last 5 years of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.8)
• Compared with SPY (0.56) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.3 is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• The Ulcer Ratio over 5 years of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is 4.89 , which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (5.79 ) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 5.89 , which is lower, thus better than the value of 7.08 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 Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is -28.8 days, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley is -28.8 days, which is greater, thus better than the value of -33.7 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). 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'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 157 days in the last 5 years of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (139 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark is 157 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 139 days from the benchmark.

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 (37 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days under water of 43 days of iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Global ETF is higher, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 48 days, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 45 days from the benchmark.