ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL)

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 performance over 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold is 102.5%, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (95%) in the same period.
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 73.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (40.5%).

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 (14.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.2% of ProShares Ultra Gold is larger, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (12%) in the period of the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.1% is greater, thus better.

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 (18.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 28.3% of ProShares Ultra Gold is larger, thus worse.
• Looking at volatility in of 28.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (22.4%).

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.'

• Looking at the downside deviation of 19.2% in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (13.7%)
• Looking at downside risk in of 19.4% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (16.5%).

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.'

• Looking at the Sharpe Ratio of 0.45 in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.63)
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 0.62 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.43).

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.'

• Looking at the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.66 in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.86)
• Looking at downside risk / excess return profile in of 0.91 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.58).

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 Downside risk index of 17 in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (5.79 )
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 12 , which is greater, thus worse than the value of 7.09 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.'

• The maximum reduction from previous high over 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold is -33.3 days, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -27.3 days, which is greater, thus better than the value of -33.7 days from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 774 days in the last 5 years of ProShares Ultra Gold, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (139 days)
• Looking at maximum days under water in of 354 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (139 days).

AveDuration:

'The Average 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. 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (37 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 259 days of ProShares Ultra Gold is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at average days under water in of 102 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (45 days).