iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG)

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (66.2%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or performance of 26.2% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is smaller, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (45.7%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of 20.4% 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.'

• Looking at the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8% 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 (10.7%)
• Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of 6.4% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (13.4%).

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 (13.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the volatility of 17.9% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is higher, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility is 15.3%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 12.5% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

'Downside risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference. 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.'

• The downside volatility over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is 19.7%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (14.6%) in the same period.
• Looking at downside risk in of 17.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (14.1%).

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.'

• Looking at the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.13 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.62)
• Compared with SPY (0.87) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.25 is lower, thus worse.

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 (0.56) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.12 of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is 0.23, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.77 from the benchmark.

Ulcer:

'The Ulcer Index is a technical indicator that measures downside risk, in terms of both the depth and duration of price declines. The index increases in value as the price moves farther away from a recent high and falls as the price rises to new highs. The indicator is usually calculated over a 14-day period, with the Ulcer Index showing the percentage drawdown a trader can expect from the high over that period. The greater the value of the Ulcer Index, the longer it takes for a stock to get back to the former high.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 11 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (3.96 )
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 7.14 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (4.01 ).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-19.3 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -29.3 days of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -22.5 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-19.3 days).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (187 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days below previous high of 512 days of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (131 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 293 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.'

• Looking at the average time in days below previous high water mark of 156 days 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 (39 days)
• During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 76 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 34 days from the benchmark.