iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF (EWL)

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.'

• The total return, or increase in value over 5 years of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF is 71.6%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (121.2%) in the same period.
• Looking at total return, or performance in of 45% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (67.5%).

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 annual return (CAGR) over 5 years of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF is 11.4%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (17.2%) in the same period.
• Looking at annual return (CAGR) in of 13.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (18.7%).

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.'

• Looking at the historical 30 days volatility of 16.8% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (18.7%)
• Compared with SPY (22.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 19.2% is lower, thus better.

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 (13.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 12.5% of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF is lower, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (16.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside volatility of 14.2% is smaller, thus better.

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 (0.79) in the period of the last 5 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 0.53 of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (0.72) in the period of the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.55 is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• The ratio of annual return and downside deviation over 5 years of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF is 0.72, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.08) in the same period.
• Looking at downside risk / excess return profile in of 0.75 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1).

Ulcer:

'Ulcer Index is a method for measuring investment risk that addresses the real concerns of investors, unlike the widely used standard deviation of return. UI is a measure of the depth and duration of drawdowns in prices from earlier highs. Using Ulcer Index instead of standard deviation can lead to very different conclusions about investment risk and risk-adjusted return, especially when evaluating strategies that seek to avoid major declines in portfolio value (market timing, dynamic asset allocation, hedge funds, etc.). The Ulcer Index was originally developed in 1987. Since then, it has been widely recognized and adopted by the investment community. According to Nelson Freeburg, editor of Formula Research, Ulcer Index is “perhaps the most fully realized statistical portrait of risk there is.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (5.59 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 6.14 of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 5.66 , which is lower, thus better than the value of 6.83 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 (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -27.8 days of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF is larger, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -27.8 days, which is greater, thus better than the value of -33.7 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). Many assume Max DD Duration is the length of time between new highs during which the Max DD (magnitude) occurred. But that isn’t always the case. The Max DD duration is the longest time between peaks, period. So it could be the time when the program also had its biggest peak to valley loss (and usually is, because the program needs a long time to recover from the largest loss), but it doesn’t have to be'

• The maximum time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF is 340 days, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (139 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum time in days below previous high water mark in of 120 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (139 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 (33 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 69 days of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at average time in days below previous high water mark in of 30 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (35 days).