First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX)

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 performance over 5 years of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF is 32.4%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (80%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (31.8%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value of -21.2% is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the annual performance (CAGR) of 5.8% in the last 5 years of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.5%)
• Compared with SPY (9.7%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) of -7.6% is smaller, 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.'

• The historical 30 days volatility over 5 years of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF is 26.9%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (21.3%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (17.6%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 26.3% is greater, thus worse.

DownVol:

'Downside risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference. 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 deviation of 19.8% in the last 5 years of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (15.3%)
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 19.2%, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 12.3% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.12 in the last 5 years of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.47)
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) is -0.39, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.41 from the benchmark.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio, a variation of the Sharpe ratio only factors in the downside, or negative volatility, rather than the total volatility used in calculating the Sharpe ratio. The theory behind the Sortino variation is that upside volatility is a plus for the investment, and it, therefore, should not be included in the risk calculation. Therefore, the Sortino ratio takes upside volatility out of the equation and uses only the downside standard deviation in its calculation instead of the total standard deviation that is used in calculating the Sharpe ratio.'

• The ratio of annual return and downside deviation over 5 years of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF is 0.17, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.66) in the same period.
• Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of -0.53 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.58).

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 (9.43 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Index of 23 of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (10 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 28 is higher, thus worse.

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 (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -43.1 days of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high is -43.1 days, which is lower, thus worse than the value of -24.5 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) in days.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (480 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days below previous high of 517 days of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF is larger, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum time in days below previous high water mark in of 517 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (480 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.'

• The average time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF is 143 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (174 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 208 days is larger, thus worse.