iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund (EWA)

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.'

• Looking at the total return, or performance of 81.9% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (109.3%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or performance is 11.6%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 34.3% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the annual performance (CAGR) of 12.7% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (16%)
• Compared with SPY (10.4%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 3.7% is smaller, thus worse.

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

• Looking at the 30 days standard deviation of 21% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (18%)
• During the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation is 21.3%, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 18.8% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

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

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (12.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 14.4% of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund is larger, thus worse.
• Looking at downside volatility in of 14.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (13%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.75) in the period of the last 5 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 0.49 of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 0.06 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.42).

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.'

• The excess return divided by the downside deviation over 5 years of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund is 0.71, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.07) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (0.6) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.09 is smaller, thus worse.

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 (8.45 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 8.78 of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund is greater, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 8.71 , which is greater, thus worse than the value of 5.75 from the benchmark.

MaxDD:

'A maximum drawdown is the maximum loss from a peak to a trough of a portfolio, before a new peak is attained. Maximum Drawdown is an indicator of downside risk over a specified time period. It can be used both as a stand-alone measure or as an input into other metrics such as 'Return over Maximum Drawdown' and the Calmar Ratio. Maximum Drawdown is expressed in percentage terms.'

• Looking at the maximum reduction from previous high of -24.9 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -21.9 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-18.8 days).

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 482 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• Compared with SPY (199 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 223 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 below previous high of 128 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (118 days)
• During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 74 days, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 45 days from the benchmark.