iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN (VXZ)

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, or performance of -55.6% in the last 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (101.1%)
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of -48.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (82.2%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (15.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of -15.1% of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is -19.8%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 22.3% from the benchmark.

Volatility:

'In finance, volatility (symbol σ) is the degree of variation of a trading price series over time as measured by the standard deviation of logarithmic returns. Historic volatility measures a time series of past market prices. Implied volatility looks forward in time, being derived from the market price of a market-traded derivative (in particular, an option). Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.'

• Looking at the 30 days standard deviation of 30% in the last 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.1%)
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 31.1%, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 15.5% from the benchmark.

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 iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is 19.7%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (11.8%) in the same period.
• Looking at downside risk in of 20.4% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10.3%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.73) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of -0.58 of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of -0.72 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.27).

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.'

• The ratio of annual return and downside deviation over 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is -0.89, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.07) in the same period.
• Looking at excess return divided by the downside deviation in of -1.09 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.91).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (8.42 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Downside risk index of 46 of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is higher, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio is 43 , which is larger, thus worse than the value of 3.57 from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum DrawDown of -66.5 days in the last 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -54.8 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-18.8 days).

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 iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is 1221 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 746 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (120 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 601 days of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at average days under water in of 372 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (21 days).