First Trust Water ETF (FIW)

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.'

• The total return, or increase in value over 5 years of First Trust Water ETF is 145.3%, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (116.9%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the total return is 71.8%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 63.4% 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.'

• The annual return (CAGR) over 5 years of First Trust Water ETF is 19.7%, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (16.8%) in the same period.
• Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of 19.8% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (17.8%).

Volatility:

'In finance, volatility (symbol σ) is the degree of variation of a trading price series over time as measured by the standard deviation of logarithmic returns. Historic volatility measures a time series of past market prices. Implied volatility looks forward in time, being derived from the market price of a market-traded derivative (in particular, an option). Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.'

• The volatility over 5 years of First Trust Water ETF is 21.3%, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (18.7%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (22.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 25% is larger, thus worse.

DownVol:

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

• Looking at the downside volatility of 15.2% in the last 5 years of First Trust Water ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (13.6%)
• During the last 3 years, the downside deviation is 17.9%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 16.3% 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.'

• The Sharpe Ratio over 5 years of First Trust Water ETF is 0.81, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.76) in the same period.
• Looking at ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) in of 0.69 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.68).

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 First Trust Water ETF is 1.13, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (1.05) in the same period.
• Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of 0.97 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.94).

Ulcer:

'The ulcer index is a stock market risk measure or technical analysis indicator devised by Peter Martin in 1987, and published by him and Byron McCann in their 1989 book The Investors Guide to Fidelity Funds. It's designed as a measure of volatility, but only volatility in the downward direction, i.e. the amount of drawdown or retracement occurring over a period. Other volatility measures like standard deviation treat up and down movement equally, but a trader doesn't mind upward movement, it's the downside that causes stress and stomach ulcers that the index's name suggests.'

• The Ulcer Index over 5 years of First Trust Water ETF is 6.49 , which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (5.58 ) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 8.07 , which is greater, thus worse than the value of 6.83 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.'

• The maximum drop from peak to valley over 5 years of First Trust Water ETF is -36.6 days, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -36.6 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-33.7 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'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (139 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days under water of 161 days of First Trust Water ETF is greater, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (139 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days under water of 161 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.'

• The average days under water over 5 years of First Trust Water ETF is 31 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (33 days) in the same period.
• Looking at average days under water in of 33 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (35 days).