iShares MSCI Belgium ETF (EWK)

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 increase in value of 57.1% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (107.6%)
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 24.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (48.1%).

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.'

• The annual return (CAGR) over 5 years of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF is 9.5%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (15.8%) in the same period.
• Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of 7.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (14%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 19.6% of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF is greater, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 18.2%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 18.3% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

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

• The downside volatility over 5 years of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF is 13.4%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (12.5%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk is 12.7%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 12.4% from the benchmark.

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 (0.74) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.36 of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is 0.28, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 0.63 from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.52 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (1.06)
• Looking at excess return divided by the downside deviation in of 0.4 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.93).

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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Ratio of 13 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.48 )
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 7.32 , which is larger, thus worse than the value of 5.54 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -35.2 days of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum DrawDown in of -22.9 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days under water of 971 days of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF is greater, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum days under water in of 199 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (199 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 (119 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 397 days of iShares MSCI Belgium ETF is greater, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (45 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 66 days is greater, thus worse.