Description

The investment seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI Australia 100% Hedged to USD Index. The fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the component securities (including indirect investments through the underlying fund) and other instruments of the underlying index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities of the underlying index. The index primarily consists of stocks traded on the Australian Stock Exchange with the currency risk inherent in the securities included in the underlying index hedged to the U.S. dollar on a monthly basis.

Statistics (YTD)

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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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The total return over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF is 32.4%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (94.2%) in the same period.
  • Looking at total return in of 19.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (27.9%).

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3% in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (14.2%)
  • Compared with SPY (8.6%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 9% is larger, thus better.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The 30 days standard deviation over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF is 28.6%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (20.9%) in the same period.
  • Looking at historical 30 days volatility in of 27.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (17.3%).

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The downside volatility over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF is 20.7%, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (15%) in the same period.
  • Looking at downside volatility in of 19.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (12.1%).

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio was developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe, and is used to help investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risk. The ratio is the average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of volatility or total risk. Subtracting the risk-free rate from the mean return allows an investor to better isolate the profits associated with risk-taking activities. One intuition of this calculation is that a portfolio engaging in 'zero risk' investments, such as the purchase of U.S. Treasury bills (for which the expected return is the risk-free rate), has a Sharpe ratio of exactly zero. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF is 0.31, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.56) in the same period.
  • Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 0.24 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.35).

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.78) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.42 of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF is lower, thus worse.
  • Looking at downside risk / excess return profile in of 0.33 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.5).

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (9.32 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 9.4 of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF is greater, thus worse.
  • Compared with SPY (10 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Downside risk index of 10 is higher, thus worse.

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the maximum reduction from previous high of -32.5 days in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days)
  • Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -32.5 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-24.5 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'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The maximum days under water over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF is 127 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
  • Looking at maximum days below previous high in of 127 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (488 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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Looking at the average days below previous high of 28 days in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (123 days)
  • Looking at average time in days below previous high water mark in of 31 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (180 days).

Performance (YTD)

Historical returns have been extended using synthetic data.

Allocations ()

Allocations

Returns (%)

  • Note that yearly returns do not equal the sum of monthly returns due to compounding.
  • Performance results of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF are hypothetical and do not account for slippage, fees or taxes.