iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund (EWM)

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 increase in value of -4.1% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (121.2%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return is -14.7%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 67.5% 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.'

• Looking at the annual performance (CAGR) of -0.8% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.2%)
• During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is -5.1%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 18.7% from the benchmark.

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (18.7%) in the period of the last 5 years, the volatility of 18.6% of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is lower, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility is 21.2%, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 22.5% 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 risk over 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is 14.1%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (13.6%) in the same period.
• Looking at downside risk in of 16.1% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (16.3%).

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 ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of -0.18 of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) is -0.36, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.72 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.'

• The excess return divided by the downside deviation over 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is -0.24, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.08) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is -0.47, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 1 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 Malaysia Index Fund is 15 , which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (5.59 ) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (6.83 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 18 is higher, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum drop from peak to valley of -43.8 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high is -43.8 days, which is smaller, thus worse 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) in days.'

• Looking at the maximum days below previous high of 754 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (139 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 754 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 139 days from the benchmark.

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 below previous high over 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is 303 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (33 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark is 378 days, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 35 days from the benchmark.