iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG)

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.'

• The total return, or increase in value over 5 years of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF is 0.9%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (75.1%) in the same period.
• Looking at total return in of 10.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (66.3%).

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 (11.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 0.2% of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) is 3.5%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 18.6% 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.'

• Looking at the 30 days standard deviation of 6.1% in the last 5 years of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.1%)
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 5.6%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 15.1% 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.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 4.3% in the last 5 years of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.8%)
• Looking at downside volatility in of 3.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (10.2%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.55) in the period of the last 5 years, the Sharpe Ratio of -0.38 of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) is 0.18, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.06 from the benchmark.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio measures the risk-adjusted return of an investment asset, portfolio, or strategy. It is a modification of the Sharpe ratio but penalizes only those returns falling below a user-specified target or required rate of return, while the Sharpe ratio penalizes both upside and downside volatility equally. Though both ratios measure an investment's risk-adjusted return, they do so in significantly different ways that will frequently lead to differing conclusions as to the true nature of the investment's return-generating efficiency. The Sortino ratio is used as a way to compare the risk-adjusted performance of programs with differing risk and return profiles. In general, risk-adjusted returns seek to normalize the risk across programs and then see which has the higher return unit per risk.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.8) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of -0.54 of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is 0.26, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 1.58 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 (8.44 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Index of 8.98 of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF is greater, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 2.26 , which is smaller, thus better than the value of 3.49 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.'

• Looking at the maximum DrawDown of -17.8 days in the last 5 years of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high is -7.4 days, which is larger, thus better 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.'

• The maximum time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF is 1146 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 195 days is larger, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the average days below previous high of 532 days in the last 5 years of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
• Compared with SPY (20 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 61 days is higher, thus worse.