iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR)

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.'

• Looking at the total return, or performance of 21.1% in the last 5 years of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (82.8%)
• Looking at total return in of 17.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (75.4%).

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.'

• Looking at the annual performance (CAGR) of 3.9% in the last 5 years of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.9%)
• Compared with SPY (20.7%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 5.6% is lower, 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 1.4% in the last 5 years of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.1%)
• Looking at 30 days standard deviation in of 1.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (15.3%).

DownVol:

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

• The downside risk over 5 years of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF is 0.9%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (11.8%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the downside deviation is 1.1%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 10.3% from the benchmark.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio (also known as the Sharpe index, the Sharpe measure, and the reward-to-variability ratio) is a way to examine the performance of an investment by adjusting for its risk. The ratio measures the excess return (or risk premium) per unit of deviation in an investment asset or a trading strategy, typically referred to as risk, named after William F. Sharpe.'

• Looking at the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 1.05 in the last 5 years of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.61)
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 1.87 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (1.19).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio, a variation of the Sharpe ratio only factors in the downside, or negative volatility, rather than the total volatility used in calculating the Sharpe ratio. The theory behind the Sortino variation is that upside volatility is a plus for the investment, and it, therefore, should not be included in the risk calculation. Therefore, the Sortino ratio takes upside volatility out of the equation and uses only the downside standard deviation in its calculation instead of the total standard deviation that is used in calculating the Sharpe ratio.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.88) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 1.65 of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF is higher, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (1.77) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 2.94 is higher, thus better.

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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 0.41 in the last 5 years of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.45 )
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio is 0.25 , which is smaller, thus better than the value of 3.52 from the benchmark.

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 drop from peak to valley of -1.3 days in the last 5 years of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF, we see it is relatively larger, 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 reduction from previous high of -1.2 days is larger, thus better.

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 302 days of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF is lower, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 71 days, which is lower, thus better 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.'

• The average days under water over 5 years of iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF is 60 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 13 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 20 days from the benchmark.