Description

The investment seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI China Index. The fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the component securities of the underlying index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities of the underlying index. The index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the performance of equity securities in the top 85% in market capitalization of the Chinese equity securities markets, as represented by the H-shares and B-shares markets. The fund is non-diversified.

Statistics (YTD)

What do these metrics mean? [Read More] [Hide]

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the total return, or performance of -3.4% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI China ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (107.8%)
  • Looking at total return in of 21.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (43.5%).

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the annual performance (CAGR) of -0.7% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI China ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (15.8%)
  • Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of 6.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (12.9%).

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 31.6% of iShares MSCI China ETF is greater, thus worse.
  • During the last 3 years, the volatility is 31.3%, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 18.4% 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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Looking at the downside risk of 20.9% in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI China ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.5%)
  • Compared with SPY (12.6%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside deviation of 21.1% is larger, thus worse.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) over 5 years of iShares MSCI China ETF is -0.1, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.74) in the same period.
  • Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 0.14 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.56).

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the excess return divided by the downside deviation of -0.15 in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI China ETF, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (1.07)
  • Compared with SPY (0.82) in the period of the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.2 is lower, 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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The Ulcer Ratio over 5 years of iShares MSCI China ETF is 42 , which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.48 ) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio is 19 , which is greater, thus worse than the value of 5.54 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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -62.8 days of iShares MSCI China ETF is lower, thus worse.
  • Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown of -36.5 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'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 1061 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI China ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
  • Compared with SPY (199 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 422 days is higher, 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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the average days under water of 464 days in the last 5 years of iShares MSCI China ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
  • During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 144 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 44 days from the benchmark.

Performance (YTD)

Historical returns have been extended using synthetic data.

Allocations ()

Allocations

Returns (%)

  • Note that yearly returns do not equal the sum of monthly returns due to compounding.
  • Performance results of iShares MSCI China ETF are hypothetical and do not account for slippage, fees or taxes.