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 of 20.6% 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 (120.7%)
• Compared with SPY (44%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of -9.5% is lower, thus worse.

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.2%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 3.8% of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of -3.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (12.9%).

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 (18.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the volatility of 19.4% of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (22.8%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 21.3% is lower, thus better.

DownVol:

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

• Looking at the downside deviation of 14.4% 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 (13.6%)
• 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 (16.7%).

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio was developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe, and is used to help investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risk. The ratio is the average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of volatility or total risk. Subtracting the risk-free rate from the mean return allows an investor to better isolate the profits associated with risk-taking activities. One intuition of this calculation is that a portfolio engaging in 'zero risk' investments, such as the purchase of U.S. Treasury bills (for which the expected return is the risk-free rate), has a Sharpe ratio of exactly zero. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.78) in the period of the last 5 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.07 of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is -0.27, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.46 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.'

• The ratio of annual return and downside deviation over 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is 0.09, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.08) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (0.62) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of -0.36 is smaller, thus worse.

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 Index of 15 of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 18 , which is greater, thus worse than the value of 7.15 from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum reduction from previous high 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 DrawDown is -43.8 days, which is lower, thus worse than the value of -33.7 days from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 696 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (139 days)
• Compared with SPY (139 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 696 days is higher, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the average days under water of 272 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 (33 days)
• During the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark is 326 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 45 days from the benchmark.