iShares MSCI Ireland ETF (EIRL)

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.'

• Looking at the total return of 40.7% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (77.9%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or performance is 40.4%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 72.4% from the benchmark.

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

• Looking at the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.3%)
• During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 12.1%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 20.1% 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.'

• Looking at the 30 days standard deviation of 21% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.1%)
• Compared with SPY (15.2%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 17.8% is larger, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 14.5% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.8%)
• Looking at downside volatility in of 12.1% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10.2%).

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 ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.22 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.57)
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) is 0.54, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.16 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 (0.83) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.32 of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile is 0.79, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.73 from the benchmark.

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 Downside risk index of 14 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.45 )
• Looking at Ulcer Index in of 7.38 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (3.51 ).

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 reduction from previous high over 5 years of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF is -40.1 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 DrawDown is -23 days, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of -18.8 days from the benchmark.

MaxDuration:

'The Maximum 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. It is the length of time the account was in the Max Drawdown. A Max Drawdown measures a retrenchment from when an equity curve reaches a new high. It’s the maximum an account lost during that retrenchment. This method is applied because a valley can’t be measured until a new high occurs. Once the new high is reached, the percentage change from the old high to the bottom of the largest trough is recorded.'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 574 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• Looking at maximum days under water in of 254 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (87 days).

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.'

• The average days below previous high over 5 years of iShares MSCI Ireland ETF is 171 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (118 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (20 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 60 days is greater, thus worse.