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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (83.4%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return of 148.6% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is higher, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (79.8%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value of 118.5% is larger, thus better.

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 Japan ETF is 20%, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (12.9%) in the same period.
• Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of 29.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (21.7%).

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.'

• Looking at the historical 30 days volatility of 19% 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 (17.1%)
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 20.5%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 15.2% from the benchmark.

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 13.2% 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 (11.8%)
• Looking at downside risk in of 14% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10.1%).

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.'

• The ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 0.92, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.61) in the same period.
• Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 1.34 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (1.26).

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.'

• The downside risk / excess return profile over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 1.33, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.89) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is 1.96, which is larger, thus better than the value of 1.89 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 Ratio over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 5.26 , which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (8.45 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Ulcer Index in of 5.08 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (3.5 ).

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 Japan ETF is -20.9 days, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -20.9 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). 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'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days below previous high of 303 days of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is smaller, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 241 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 87 days from the benchmark.

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.'

• The average time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 75 days, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 52 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 20 days from the benchmark.