iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA)

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.'

• The total return over 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is 14.5%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (65.8%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 24.7%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 48.8% 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 2.8% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (10.6%)
• During the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) is 7.7%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 14.2% from the benchmark.

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.'

• The historical 30 days volatility over 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is 14.4%, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (13.6%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (12.8%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 11.5% is lower, thus better.

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 15.9% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (15%)
• Compared with SPY (14.6%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk of 13% is lower, thus better.

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 (0.6) in the period of the last 5 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.02 of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is 0.45, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.91 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.'

• Looking at the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.02 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.54)
• Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of 0.4 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.8).

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 Index over 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is 9.61 , which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (4.03 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Downside risk index in of 8.11 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-19.3 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -23 days of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -22.1 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-19.3 days).

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 under water over 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is 495 days, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (187 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days under water is 412 days, which is larger, 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.'

• The average days under water over 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is 182 days, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (41 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (35 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 132 days is greater, thus worse.