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.'

• Looking at the total return, or performance of 12% in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (95.7%)
• Compared with SPY (81.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of -8.9% 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.'

• The annual performance (CAGR) over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is 49.4%, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (14.4%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is -71%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 22.1% from the benchmark.

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.'

• The volatility over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is 74.9%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (17.1%) in the same period.
• Looking at volatility in of 117.1% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (15.3%).

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

• Looking at the Sharpe Ratio of 0.63 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.7)
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is -0.63, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 1.28 from the benchmark.

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.'

• The downside risk / excess return profile over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is 0.87, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.01) in the same period.
• 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 1.92 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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 9.17 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.42 )
• Compared with SPY (3.52 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Downside risk index of 16 is larger, 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -26.3 days of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum DrawDown in of -26.3 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 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'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 14 days in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days under water of 14 days is lower, thus better.

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 iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is 4 days, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (120 days) in the same period.
• Looking at average days below previous high in of 6 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (21 days).