iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (EWG)

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.'

• The total return, or increase in value over 5 years of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund is 23.5%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (87.1%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the total return is -4.4%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 26.8% from the benchmark.

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 (13.4%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 4.3% of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is -1.5%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 8.3% 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.'

• Looking at the 30 days standard deviation of 24.2% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (20.9%)
• Compared with SPY (17.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 21.5% is higher, thus worse.

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 (15%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 17.6% of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund is larger, thus worse.
• Looking at downside volatility in of 14.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (12.1%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.52) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.07 of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) is -0.19, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.33 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 (0.72) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.1 of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is -0.27, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.48 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 Downside risk index over 5 years of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund is 17 , which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (9.33 ) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (10 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 20 is greater, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -43.4 days of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -43.4 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 under water over 5 years of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund is 724 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum days under water in of 724 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (488 days).

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 (122 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 231 days of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (179 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 353 days is greater, thus worse.