VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF (AFK)

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 (94.2%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or increase in value of 60.7% of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (81.9%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value of 97.1% is higher, thus better.

CAGR:

'The compound annual growth rate isn't a true return rate, but rather a representational figure. It is essentially a number that describes the rate at which an investment would have grown if it had grown the same rate every year and the profits were reinvested at the end of each year. In reality, this sort of performance is unlikely. However, CAGR can be used to smooth returns so that they may be more easily understood when compared to alternative investments.'

• The annual performance (CAGR) over 5 years of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF is 10%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (14.3%) in the same period.
• Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of 25.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (22.2%).

Volatility:

'In finance, volatility (symbol σ) is the degree of variation of a trading price series over time as measured by the standard deviation of logarithmic returns. Historic volatility measures a time series of past market prices. Implied volatility looks forward in time, being derived from the market price of a market-traded derivative (in particular, an option). Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (17%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 20.9% of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF is greater, thus worse.
• Looking at historical 30 days volatility in of 22.1% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (15.1%).

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 (11.7%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 14.8% of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (10.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk of 15.5% is higher, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.69) in the period of the last 5 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 0.36 of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (1.3) in the period of the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 1.04 is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• The downside risk / excess return profile over 5 years of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF is 0.51, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1) in the same period.
• Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of 1.49 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.95).

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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 21 in the last 5 years of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.42 )
• Compared with SPY (3.4 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Downside risk index of 8.31 is larger, thus worse.

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 DrawDown over 5 years of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF is -38.6 days, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley is -20.8 days, which is lower, thus worse than the value of -18.8 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.'

• Looking at the maximum days below previous high of 1035 days in the last 5 years of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 307 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 87 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.'

• The average days under water over 5 years of VanEck Vectors-Africa Index ETF is 450 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the same period.
• Looking at average time in days below previous high water mark in of 86 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (19 days).