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 increase in value of -23.8% 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 (94.2%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return is -50%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 34.4% from the benchmark.

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 (14.2%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of -5.3% of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of -20.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10.4%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (21%) in the period of the last 5 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 36.3% of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (17.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 29.7% is larger, thus worse.

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.'

• The downside volatility over 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is 21.9%, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (15%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 19.4%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 12.3% 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.'

• The Sharpe Ratio over 5 years of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is -0.21, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.56) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) is -0.78, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 0.45 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 (0.78) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of -0.36 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 -1.19 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.64).

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 (9.33 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Index of 42 of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 42 , which is higher, thus worse than the value of 8.87 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -69 days of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley is -62 days, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of -22.4 days from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 1214 days 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 (488 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 651 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 375 days from the benchmark.

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 (122 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 597 days of iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 289 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 113 days from the benchmark.