Description

The investment seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the ISE Clean Edge Global Wind EnergyTM Index. The fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks and depositary receipts that comprise the index. The index provides a benchmark for investors interested in tracking public companies throughout the world that are active in the wind energy industry. In order to be eligible for inclusion in the index, a security must be issued by a company that is actively engaged in some aspect of the wind energy industry. The fund is non-diversified.

Statistics (YTD)

What do these metrics mean? [Read More] [Hide]

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the total return, or performance of 42% in the last 5 years of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (67.9%)
  • During the last 3 years, the total return is 30.6%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 44.5% from the benchmark.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (10.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 7.3% of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF is lower, thus worse.
  • During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 9.3%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 13.1% 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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The historical 30 days volatility over 5 years of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF is 23.5%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (21.4%) in the same period.
  • Looking at 30 days standard deviation in of 22.8% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (18.7%).

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the downside volatility of 16.6% in the last 5 years of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (15.4%)
  • Looking at downside deviation in of 15.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (13.3%).

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.2 in the last 5 years of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.39)
  • Compared with SPY (0.56) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.3 is lower, 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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The excess return divided by the downside deviation over 5 years of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF is 0.29, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.55) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (0.79) in the period of the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.44 is lower, thus worse.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The Ulcer Ratio over 5 years of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF is 19 , which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (9.47 ) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio is 23 , which is larger, thus worse than the value of 10 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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the maximum reduction from previous high of -42.8 days in the last 5 years of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days)
  • Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -42.8 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-24.5 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'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (354 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days below previous high of 603 days of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF is higher, thus worse.
  • Looking at maximum days below previous high in of 603 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (354 days).

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (79 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 181 days of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF is larger, thus worse.
  • Looking at average time in days below previous high water mark in of 261 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (102 days).

Performance (YTD)

Historical returns have been extended using synthetic data.

Allocations ()

Allocations

Returns (%)

  • Note that yearly returns do not equal the sum of monthly returns due to compounding.
  • Performance results of First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF are hypothetical, do not account for slippage, fees or taxes, and are based on backtesting, which has many inherent limitations, some of which are described in our Terms of Use.