iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG)

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.'

• The total return, or performance over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is 12%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (95%) in the same period.
• Looking at total return in of -8.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (86.2%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (14.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 49.4% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is larger, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is -71%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 23.1% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 74.9% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (15.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 117.1% is higher, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (11.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside risk of 53.7% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is greater, thus worse.
• Looking at downside volatility in of 89.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10.2%).

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 ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is 0.63, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.69) in the same period.
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of -0.63 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.35).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.01) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.87 of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is -0.82, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 2.03 from the benchmark.

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.'

• The Ulcer Index over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is 9.17 , which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.42 ) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (3.51 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 16 is greater, thus worse.

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown is defined as the peak-to-trough decline of an investment during a specific period. It is usually quoted as a percentage of the peak value. The maximum drawdown can be calculated based on absolute returns, in order to identify strategies that suffer less during market downturns, such as low-volatility strategies. However, the maximum drawdown can also be calculated based on returns relative to a benchmark index, for identifying strategies that show steady outperformance over time.'

• The maximum drop from peak to valley over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is -26.3 days, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -26.3 days, which is lower, thus worse than the value of -18.8 days from the benchmark.

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 under water over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is 14 days, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark is 14 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 87 days from the benchmark.

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 4 days in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
• During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 6 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 21 days from the benchmark.