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.'

• The total return, or performance over 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is -51.4%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (84.4%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or performance is -24.5%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 71.1% from the benchmark.

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 iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is -13.5%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (13.1%) in the same period.
• Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of -9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (19.7%).

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.'

• The historical 30 days volatility over 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is 29%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (17.2%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (15.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 29.3% is greater, thus worse.

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 (11.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 18.9% of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside deviation is 19%, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 10.3% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of -0.55 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 (0.62)
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is -0.39, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.12 from the benchmark.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio measures the risk-adjusted return of an investment asset, portfolio, or strategy. It is a modification of the Sharpe ratio but penalizes only those returns falling below a user-specified target or required rate of return, while the Sharpe ratio penalizes both upside and downside volatility equally. Though both ratios measure an investment's risk-adjusted return, they do so in significantly different ways that will frequently lead to differing conclusions as to the true nature of the investment's return-generating efficiency. The Sortino ratio is used as a way to compare the risk-adjusted performance of programs with differing risk and return profiles. In general, risk-adjusted returns seek to normalize the risk across programs and then see which has the higher return unit per risk.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.89) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of -0.85 of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at downside risk / excess return profile in of -0.6 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.67).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (8.45 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Index of 45 of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at Ulcer Index in of 26 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (3.52 ).

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown is defined as the peak-to-trough decline of an investment during a specific period. It is usually quoted as a percentage of the peak value. The maximum drawdown can be calculated based on absolute returns, in order to identify strategies that suffer less during market downturns, such as low-volatility strategies. However, the maximum drawdown can also be calculated based on returns relative to a benchmark index, for identifying strategies that show steady outperformance over time.'

• The maximum DrawDown over 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is -62 days, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -36.4 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-18.8 days).

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). Many assume Max DD Duration is the length of time between new highs during which the Max DD (magnitude) occurred. But that isn’t always the case. The Max DD duration is the longest time between peaks, period. So it could be the time when the program also had its biggest peak to valley loss (and usually is, because the program needs a long time to recover from the largest loss), but it doesn’t have to be'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 1025 days in the last 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• Looking at maximum days below previous high in of 680 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (87 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.'

• Looking at the average days under water of 427 days in the last 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 313 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 21 days from the benchmark.