iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF (HEWL)

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.'

• The total return over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF is 44%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (115.2%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 32.3%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 70.9% from the benchmark.

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 (16.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 12.1% of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (19.7%) in the period of the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2% is lower, thus worse.

Volatility:

'Volatility is a rate at which the price of a security increases or decreases for a given set of returns. Volatility is measured by calculating the standard deviation of the annualized returns over a given period of time. It shows the range to which the price of a security may increase or decrease. Volatility measures the risk of a security. It is used in option pricing formula to gauge the fluctuations in the returns of the underlying assets. Volatility indicates the pricing behavior of the security and helps estimate the fluctuations that may happen in a short period of time.'

• Looking at the volatility of 22.4% in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.6%)
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 23%, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 17.5% 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.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 16.9% in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.1%)
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk is 17.2%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 11.6% 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.'

• Looking at the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.43 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.81)
• Compared with SPY (0.98) in the period of the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.46 is smaller, thus worse.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio improves upon the Sharpe ratio by isolating downside volatility from total volatility by dividing excess return by the downside deviation. The Sortino ratio is a variation of the Sharpe ratio that differentiates harmful volatility from total overall volatility by using the asset's standard deviation of negative asset returns, called downside deviation. The Sortino ratio takes the asset's return and subtracts the risk-free rate, and then divides that amount by the asset's downside deviation. The ratio was named after Frank A. Sortino.'

• Looking at the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.57 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (1.17)
• Compared with SPY (1.49) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.62 is lower, thus worse.

Ulcer:

'Ulcer Index is a method for measuring investment risk that addresses the real concerns of investors, unlike the widely used standard deviation of return. UI is a measure of the depth and duration of drawdowns in prices from earlier highs. Using Ulcer Index instead of standard deviation can lead to very different conclusions about investment risk and risk-adjusted return, especially when evaluating strategies that seek to avoid major declines in portfolio value (market timing, dynamic asset allocation, hedge funds, etc.). The Ulcer Index was originally developed in 1987. Since then, it has been widely recognized and adopted by the investment community. According to Nelson Freeburg, editor of Formula Research, Ulcer Index is “perhaps the most fully realized statistical portrait of risk there is.'

• Looking at the Downside risk index of 6.4 in the last 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.48 )
• Compared with SPY (5.31 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 6.62 is higher, thus worse.

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 reduction from previous high over 5 years of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF is -29.9 days, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -29.9 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 time in days below previous high water mark of 157 days of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF is smaller, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (199 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 128 days is smaller, thus better.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (120 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 41 days of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Switzerland ETF is smaller, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 32 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 47 days from the benchmark.