VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (92.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or increase in value of 138.7% of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is larger, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 180.3%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 83.2% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (14.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 19.1% of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is higher, thus better.
• Looking at annual return (CAGR) in of 41.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (22.5%).

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.'

• Looking at the volatility of 36.4% in the last 5 years of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17%)
• Compared with SPY (15.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 37.4% is higher, 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 risk of 25.3% in the last 5 years of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.7%)
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 26.4%, which is greater, 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.'

• Looking at the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.46 in the last 5 years of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.68)
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) is 1.04, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.33 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.99) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.65 of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (1.98) in the period of the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 1.47 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (8.45 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Downside risk index of 20 of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 11 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (3.5 ).

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 -46.5 days of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -30.8 days is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days under water of 588 days of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 177 days is larger, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (120 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days under water of 170 days of VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 40 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 20 days from the benchmark.