iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF (HEWJ)

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.'

• Looking at the total return, or performance of 68% in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (133.2%)
• Compared with SPY (80.4%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or performance of 39.2% is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• The annual return (CAGR) over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 11%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (18.5%) in the same period.
• Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of 11.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (21.8%).

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.'

• The volatility over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 19.6%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (18.7%) in the same period.
• Looking at volatility in of 22.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (22.4%).

DownVol:

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

• Looking at the downside volatility of 14.1% in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (13.6%)
• Looking at downside volatility in of 15.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (16.2%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.85) in the period of the last 5 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 0.43 of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is 0.41, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.86 from the benchmark.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio, a variation of the Sharpe ratio only factors in the downside, or negative volatility, rather than the total volatility used in calculating the Sharpe ratio. The theory behind the Sortino variation is that upside volatility is a plus for the investment, and it, therefore, should not be included in the risk calculation. Therefore, the Sortino ratio takes upside volatility out of the equation and uses only the downside standard deviation in its calculation instead of the total standard deviation that is used in calculating the Sharpe ratio.'

• The downside risk / excess return profile over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 0.6, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.18) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile is 0.58, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 1.19 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 Ratio of 8.11 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (5.59 )
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 6.96 , which is greater, thus worse than the value of 6.36 from the benchmark.

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 (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -31.5 days of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is greater, thus better.
• Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -31.5 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (-33.7 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.'

• Looking at the maximum days below previous high of 512 days in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (139 days)
• Compared with SPY (119 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 203 days is greater, 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.'

• The average days below previous high over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 137 days, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (32 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 67 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 25 days from the benchmark.