iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund (EWC)

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (110.7%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or increase in value of 95.4% of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 45.8% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (66.5%).

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.'

• The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is 14.4%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (16.1%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (18.7%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 13.5% is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 17.4% of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is lower, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility is 17.4%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 17.5% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (12.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside volatility of 12% of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is lower, thus better.
• Looking at downside risk in of 11.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (11.6%).

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio was developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe, and is used to help investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risk. The ratio is the average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of volatility or total risk. Subtracting the risk-free rate from the mean return allows an investor to better isolate the profits associated with risk-taking activities. One intuition of this calculation is that a portfolio engaging in 'zero risk' investments, such as the purchase of U.S. Treasury bills (for which the expected return is the risk-free rate), has a Sharpe ratio of exactly zero. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return.'

• The ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) over 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is 0.68, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.78) in the same period.
• Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 0.63 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.92).

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.'

• The excess return divided by the downside deviation over 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is 0.99, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.13) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is 0.94, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.4 from the benchmark.

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 Ratio over 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is 8.73 , which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.48 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 4.78 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (5.31 ).

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 (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -24.8 days of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -16.3 days is larger, 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) in days.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days under water of 572 days of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum days under water in of 114 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (199 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 under water over 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is 158 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (120 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (47 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 37 days is smaller, thus better.