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 of 119.4% in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (107.5%)
• Looking at total return in of 134.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (78.7%).

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.'

• The annual performance (CAGR) over 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust is 17.1%, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (15.8%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is 33.1%, which is higher, thus better than the value of 21.5% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the volatility of 15.5% in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.1%)
• During the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility is 16.1%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 15.6% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 10.6% in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.7%)
• Compared with SPY (10.4%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside deviation of 10.7% is greater, thus worse.

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 0.94 in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.78)
• Looking at ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) in of 1.89 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (1.21).

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 downside risk / excess return profile over 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust is 1.37, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (1.13) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is 2.87, which is greater, thus better than the value of 1.83 from the benchmark.

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 Ratio over 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust is 7.64 , which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (8.42 ) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio is 3.72 , which is larger, thus worse than the value of 3.61 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.'

• Looking at the maximum DrawDown of -21 days in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley is -11.3 days, which is larger, thus better than the value of -18.8 days from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 436 days in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• Looking at maximum time in days below previous high water mark in of 145 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (87 days).

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.'

• Looking at the average time in days below previous high water mark of 126 days in the last 5 years of SPDR Gold Trust, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (120 days)
• Compared with SPY (21 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 28 days is greater, thus worse.