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.'

• Looking at the total return of 48.2% in the last 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (62.4%)
• Looking at total return, or performance in of 61.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (39.3%).

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.'

• The annual performance (CAGR) over 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is 8.2%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (10.2%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) is 17.3%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 11.7% 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 volatility of 37.2% 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 (13.5%)
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 31.6%, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 13.2% from the benchmark.

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 25.3% in the last 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (9.8%)
• Looking at downside deviation in of 21.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (9.8%).

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.'

• The ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) over 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is 0.15, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.57) in the same period.
• Looking at ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) in of 0.47 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.69).

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 0.22 in the last 5 years of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.78)
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile is 0.68, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 0.94 from the benchmark.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (3.98 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Downside risk index of 27 of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is larger, thus worse.
• Looking at Downside risk index in of 19 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (4.12 ).

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 (-19.3 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -48.8 days of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (-19.3 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -40 days is lower, 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.'

• Looking at the maximum days below previous high of 780 days 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 (187 days)
• Looking at maximum days below previous high in of 466 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (139 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (42 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 269 days of VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is higher, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 163 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 37 days from the benchmark.