iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund (EWC)

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, or performance of 80.8% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (86.2%)
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 78.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (73.4%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (13.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 12.6% of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at annual return (CAGR) in of 21.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (20.2%).

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 Canada Index Fund is 17.3%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (17.2%) in the same period.
• Looking at volatility in of 15.1% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (15.3%).

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 11.9% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.8%)
• Looking at downside risk in of 10.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10.3%).

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.'

• The ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) over 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is 0.59, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.63) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is 1.25, which is greater, thus better than the value of 1.16 from the benchmark.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio improves upon the Sharpe ratio by isolating downside volatility from total volatility by dividing excess return by the downside deviation. The Sortino ratio is a variation of the Sharpe ratio that differentiates harmful volatility from total overall volatility by using the asset's standard deviation of negative asset returns, called downside deviation. The Sortino ratio takes the asset's return and subtracts the risk-free rate, and then divides that amount by the asset's downside deviation. The ratio was named after Frank A. Sortino.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.91) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.85 of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile is 1.83, which is greater, thus better than the value of 1.73 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 Index over 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is 8.72 , which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.46 ) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio is 3.35 , which is lower, thus better than the value of 3.52 from the benchmark.

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 DrawDown 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 -13 days is higher, thus better.

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.'

• The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is 572 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 99 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days under water of 155 days of iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund is larger, thus worse.
• Looking at average days below previous high in of 22 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (21 days).