iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF (HEWJ)

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

• Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 134.4% in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (107.8%)
• Compared with SPY (43.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or performance of 70.4% is higher, thus better.

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 (15.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is greater, thus better.
• Looking at annual return (CAGR) in of 19.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (12.9%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 18.5% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (18.4%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 19.3% is larger, thus worse.

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (12.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 13% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is higher, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk is 13.8%, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 12.6% from the benchmark.

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.'

• The Sharpe Ratio over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 0.87, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.74) in the same period.
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 0.88 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.56).

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 (1.07) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 1.24 of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is larger, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile is 1.24, which is higher, thus better than the value of 0.82 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.'

• The Ulcer Index over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 5.24 , which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (8.48 ) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 5.25 , which is smaller, thus better than the value of 5.54 from the benchmark.

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.'

• The maximum drop from peak to valley over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is -20.9 days, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -20.9 days is lower, thus worse.

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'

• The maximum days under water over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 303 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum time in days below previous high water mark in of 208 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (199 days).

AveDuration:

'The Average 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. 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 (119 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 72 days of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is smaller, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 45 days, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 44 days from the benchmark.