iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (KSA)

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, or increase in value over 5 years of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF is 30.8%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (93.2%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (80.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of 11.9% is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (14.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 5.5% of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (21.8%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 3.8% is smaller, thus worse.

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 volatility of 15.8% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17%)
• Compared with SPY (15.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 14.7% is lower, thus better.

DownVol:

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

• The downside deviation over 5 years of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF is 10.9%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (11.7%) in the same period.
• Looking at downside volatility in of 9.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (10.1%).

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 (0.68) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.19 of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 0.09 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.28).

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.'

• Looking at the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.28 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.99)
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile is 0.14, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.91 from the benchmark.

Ulcer:

'The Ulcer Index is a technical indicator that measures downside risk, in terms of both the depth and duration of price declines. The index increases in value as the price moves farther away from a recent high and falls as the price rises to new highs. The indicator is usually calculated over a 14-day period, with the Ulcer Index showing the percentage drawdown a trader can expect from the high over that period. The greater the value of the Ulcer Index, the longer it takes for a stock to get back to the former high.'

• The Ulcer Index over 5 years of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF is 15 , which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.42 ) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio is 7.5 , which is higher, thus worse than the value of 3.4 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 (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -28.1 days of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -15.6 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (-18.8 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days below previous high of 969 days of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 473 days is larger, 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 time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF is 398 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the same period.
• Looking at average days below previous high in of 168 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (19 days).