Description

The investment seeks to replicate, net of expenses, the inverse of the daily performance of the S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures index. The index was designed to provide investors with exposure to one or more maturities of futures contracts on the VIX, which reflects implied volatility of the S&P 500 Index at various points along the volatility forward curve. The calculation of the VIX is based on prices of put and call options on the S&P 500 Index. The ETNs are linked to the daily inverse return of the index and do not represent an investment in the inverse of the VIX.

Statistics (YTD)

What do these metrics mean? [Read More] [Hide]

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 0% in the last 5 years of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (80.9%)
  • Looking at total return in of 0% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (75.3%).

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (12.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 0% of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN is smaller, thus worse.
  • During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is 0%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 20.7% 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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (17%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 0% of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN is lower, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (15%) in the period of the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 0% is smaller, thus better.

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (11.7%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 0% of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN is lower, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (10.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside volatility of 0% is lower, thus better.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0 in the last 5 years of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.6)
  • During the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) is 0, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.21 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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.86) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0 of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN is lower, thus worse.
  • Looking at excess return divided by the downside deviation in of 0 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.81).

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (8.43 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Index of 0 of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN is lower, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (3.41 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 0 is smaller, thus better.

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of 0 days of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN is larger, thus better.
  • During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is 0 days, which is larger, thus better than the value of -18.8 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). 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'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN is 0 days, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 0 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 87 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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days under water of 0 days of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN is lower, thus better.
  • During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 0 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 19 days from the benchmark.

Performance (YTD)

Historical returns have been extended using synthetic data.

Allocations ()

Allocations

Returns (%)

  • Note that yearly returns do not equal the sum of monthly returns due to compounding.
  • Performance results of VelocityShares Inverse VIX Medium Term ETN are hypothetical and do not account for slippage, fees or taxes.