VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN (UGLD)

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.'

• The total return over 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is 100.8%, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (81.9%) in the same period.
• Looking at total return in of 117.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (46.1%).

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 return (CAGR) over 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is 15%, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (12.7%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (13.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 29.6% is larger, thus better.

Volatility:

'Volatility is a rate at which the price of a security increases or decreases for a given set of returns. Volatility is measured by calculating the standard deviation of the annualized returns over a given period of time. It shows the range to which the price of a security may increase or decrease. Volatility measures the risk of a security. It is used in option pricing formula to gauge the fluctuations in the returns of the underlying assets. Volatility indicates the pricing behavior of the security and helps estimate the fluctuations that may happen in a short period of time.'

• Looking at the 30 days standard deviation of 31.5% in the last 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (19.8%)
• Looking at historical 30 days volatility in of 32.8% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (23%).

DownVol:

'Downside risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference. 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 (14.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 21% of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at downside deviation in of 21.1% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (16.8%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.52) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.4 of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) is 0.82, which is larger, thus better than the value of 0.48 from the benchmark.

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 (0.7) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.6 of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is 1.28, which is larger, thus better than the value of 0.65 from the benchmark.

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 Downside risk index of 15 in the last 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (6.08 )
• Compared with SPY (6.77 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Downside risk index of 6.43 is lower, thus better.

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 (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -40 days of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -34.3 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) in days.'

• The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is 473 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (139 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (119 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 473 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (35 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 188 days of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is greater, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (27 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 166 days is larger, thus worse.