iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund (EEM)

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 (106.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or performance of 30.6% of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 26.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (69.9%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (15.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 5.5% of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 8.2%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 19.4% 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 volatility of 18.7% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.6%)
• Looking at historical 30 days volatility in of 17.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (17.7%).

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 (12.2%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside volatility of 12.8% of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 11.9%, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 11.6% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the Sharpe Ratio of 0.16 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.74)
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is 0.32, which is smaller, thus worse 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.08) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.24 of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (1.46) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.48 is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 22 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.48 )
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 6.75 , which is larger, thus worse than the value of 5.31 from the benchmark.

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -39.8 days of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown of -17.3 days is higher, thus better.

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 below previous high over 5 years of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund is 1089 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days under water is 299 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 199 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 (120 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 494 days of iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (46 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 93 days is greater, thus worse.