SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)

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.'

• Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 142% in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (87%)
• Looking at total return in of 121.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (78.1%).

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 performance (CAGR) over 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust is 19.4%, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (13.4%) in the same period.
• Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of 30.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (21.3%).

Volatility:

'Volatility is a rate at which the price of a security increases or decreases for a given set of returns. Volatility is measured by calculating the standard deviation of the annualized returns over a given period of time. It shows the range to which the price of a security may increase or decrease. Volatility measures the risk of a security. It is used in option pricing formula to gauge the fluctuations in the returns of the underlying assets. Volatility indicates the pricing behavior of the security and helps estimate the fluctuations that may happen in a short period of time.'

• Looking at the historical 30 days volatility of 18.6% in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.2%)
• During the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility is 20.9%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 15.4% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

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

• Looking at the downside deviation of 13% in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.8%)
• Compared with SPY (10.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside deviation of 14.8% is greater, thus worse.

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.'

• The risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust is 0.91, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.63) in the same period.
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 1.34 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (1.22).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.92) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 1.3 of SPDR Gold Trust is higher, thus better.
• Looking at excess return divided by the downside deviation in of 1.9 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (1.82).

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 Index over 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust is 8.65 , which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.45 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 7.64 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (3.38 ).

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 DrawDown of -26.4 days of SPDR Gold Trust is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum DrawDown in of -26.4 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 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 below previous high of 436 days of SPDR Gold Trust is lower, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 131 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.'

• The average days below previous high over 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust is 101 days, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (18 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 27 days is larger, thus worse.