ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL)

TotalReturn:

'The total return on a portfolio of investments takes into account not only the capital appreciation on the portfolio, but also the income received on the portfolio. The income typically consists of interest, dividends, and securities lending fees. This contrasts with the price return, which takes into account only the capital gain on an investment.'

• Looking at the total return of 135.3% in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (107.8%)
• Compared with SPY (43.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value of 126.7% is greater, thus better.

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.'

• The annual performance (CAGR) over 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold is 18.7%, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (15.8%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 31.5%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 12.9% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the 30 days standard deviation of 30.9% in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.9%)
• Looking at volatility in of 30.8% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (18.4%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (12.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 21.7% of ProShares Ultra Gold is greater, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 20.4%, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 12.6% 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 risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.52 in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.74)
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 0.94 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.56).

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 (1.07) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.75 of ProShares Ultra Gold is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is 1.42, which is larger, thus better than the value of 0.82 from the benchmark.

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 Ulcer Ratio of 25 in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.48 )
• Looking at Ulcer Index in of 11 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (5.54 ).

MaxDD:

'A maximum drawdown is the maximum loss from a peak to a trough of a portfolio, before a new peak is attained. Maximum Drawdown is an indicator of downside risk over a specified time period. It can be used both as a stand-alone measure or as an input into other metrics such as 'Return over Maximum Drawdown' and the Calmar Ratio. Maximum Drawdown is expressed in percentage terms.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -46.2 days of ProShares Ultra Gold is smaller, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -27.8 days is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• The maximum time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold is 950 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (199 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 209 days is greater, 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.'

• Looking at the average days below previous high of 380 days in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, 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 61 days, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 44 days from the benchmark.