iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA)

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 (80.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or performance of 31.8% of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at total return, or performance in of 10% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (30.8%).

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 (12.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 5.7% of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) is 3.2%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 9.4% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (21.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 19.8% of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is lower, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 16.9%, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 17.6% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 14.5% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (15.3%)
• Looking at downside deviation in of 11.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (12.3%).

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.'

• The Sharpe Ratio over 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is 0.16, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.47) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) is 0.04, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 0.39 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 (0.66) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.22 of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (0.56) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.06 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.'

• The Ulcer Ratio over 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is 11 , which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (9.43 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 11 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10 ).

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.'

• The maximum reduction from previous high over 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is -33.9 days, which is smaller, thus worse 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 -29.5 days, which is lower, thus worse than the value of -24.5 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 days below previous high over 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is 560 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (478 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (478 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 560 days is greater, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the average days under water of 159 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (118 days)
• Looking at average days below previous high in of 222 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (173 days).