First Trust Indxx NextG ETF (NXTG)

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 85.4% in the last 5 years of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (82.2%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 96.4%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 78.3% from the benchmark.

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (12.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2% of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF is larger, thus better.
• Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of 25.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (21.3%).

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 17.5% of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF is greater, thus worse.
• Looking at volatility in of 16.4% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (15.2%).

DownVol:

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

• The downside volatility over 5 years of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF is 11.9%, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (11.8%) in the same period.
• Looking at downside risk in of 10.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse 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.'

• Looking at the Sharpe Ratio of 0.61 in the last 5 years of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.6)
• Compared with SPY (1.24) in the period of the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 1.39 is higher, thus better.

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 (0.87) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.9 of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF is higher, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (1.86) in the period of the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 2.09 is greater, thus better.

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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 12 in the last 5 years of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.45 )
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 3.77 , which is greater, thus worse than the value of 3.5 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 -33.6 days of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF is smaller, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -17.8 days is greater, 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 544 days of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF is greater, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum days below previous high in of 97 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (87 days).

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 First Trust Indxx NextG ETF is 141 days, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 24 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 20 days from the benchmark.