iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF (HEWC)

TotalReturn:

'The total return on a portfolio of investments takes into account not only the capital appreciation on the portfolio, but also the income received on the portfolio. The income typically consists of interest, dividends, and securities lending fees. This contrasts with the price return, which takes into account only the capital gain on an investment.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (143%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or increase in value of 48.1% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF is smaller, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (39%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of 30.5% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (19.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 8.2% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at annual return (CAGR) in of 9.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (11.7%).

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.'

• The volatility over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF is 17.8%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (19.6%) in the same period.
• Looking at historical 30 days volatility in of 12.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (17.1%).

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 risk of 13.1% in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (13.5%)
• Looking at downside deviation in of 9.1% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (12%).

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 0.32 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.87)
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 0.53 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.54).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio measures the risk-adjusted return of an investment asset, portfolio, or strategy. It is a modification of the Sharpe ratio but penalizes only those returns falling below a user-specified target or required rate of return, while the Sharpe ratio penalizes both upside and downside volatility equally. Though both ratios measure an investment's risk-adjusted return, they do so in significantly different ways that will frequently lead to differing conclusions as to the true nature of the investment's return-generating efficiency. The Sortino ratio is used as a way to compare the risk-adjusted performance of programs with differing risk and return profiles. In general, risk-adjusted returns seek to normalize the risk across programs and then see which has the higher return unit per risk.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.26) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.44 of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of 0.75 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.77).

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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 7.07 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.32 )
• Compared with SPY (8.6 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 5.98 is lower, thus better.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum DrawDown of -34.9 days in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -16.2 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (-22.1 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) in days.'

• The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF is 408 days, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (325 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 408 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (118 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 102 days of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada ETF is lower, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 131 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 90 days from the benchmark.