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 of 162% 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 (92.8%)
• Looking at total return, or performance in of 121.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (88.1%).

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 21.3% in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (14.1%)
• Compared with SPY (23.6%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 30.7% is higher, thus better.

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.'

• The 30 days standard deviation over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 19%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (17%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 20.4%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 15.1% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

'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.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 13.1% 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 (11.7%)
• Looking at downside risk in of 13.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, 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.'

• Looking at the Sharpe Ratio of 0.99 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.68)
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is 1.38, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.4 from the benchmark.

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 ratio of annual return and downside deviation over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF is 1.44, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.99) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (2.1) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 2.02 is smaller, thus worse.

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 5.27 , which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (8.45 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Downside risk index in of 5.09 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (3.5 ).

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'

• Looking at the maximum DrawDown of -20.9 days in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley 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'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 303 days in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark is 241 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 87 days from the benchmark.

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 days under water of 75 days in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (120 days)
• Compared with SPY (20 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 53 days is larger, thus worse.