iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund (EWM)

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 performance of 29.3% 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 (82.6%)
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 48.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (77.9%).

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 (12.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 5.3% of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (21.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2% is lower, thus worse.

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 (17.2%) in the period of the last 5 years, the volatility of 13.8% of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is lower, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (15.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 14% is lower, thus better.

DownVol:

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

• The downside deviation over 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is 9.5%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (11.9%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (10.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk of 9.6% is lower, thus better.

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 risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is 0.2, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.6) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) is 0.83, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 1.23 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.87) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.3 of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile is 1.21, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.83 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 Malaysia Index Fund is 11 , which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.46 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Downside risk index in of 6.43 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (3.37 ).

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.'

• Looking at the maximum DrawDown of -22.8 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high is -21.3 days, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of -18.8 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'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 705 days of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is higher, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark is 280 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 87 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (118 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 243 days of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (18 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 70 days is higher, thus worse.