iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY)

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

• Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 156.3% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (93.5%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return is 253.7%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 84.5% 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 20.8% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (14.2%)
• Compared with SPY (22.8%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 52.8% is higher, thus better.

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.'

• The 30 days standard deviation over 5 years of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF is 28.8%, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (17%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (15.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 31.3% is greater, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 18.9% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.7%)
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 19.8%, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 10.1% from the benchmark.

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 (0.68) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.64 of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) in of 1.6 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (1.35).

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 downside risk / excess return profile over 5 years of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF is 0.97, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (2.02) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 2.54 is larger, thus better.

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 Ratio over 5 years of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF is 27 , which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.45 ) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 10 , which is higher, thus worse than the value of 3.5 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 reduction from previous high of -48.6 days of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -27.4 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 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'

• Looking at the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 1081 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 234 days is larger, 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 486 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (120 days)
• Compared with SPY (20 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days under water of 66 days is larger, thus worse.