Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund (NAESX)

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (77.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return of 40.8% of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the total return is 47.3%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 65.7% 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.'

• The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over 5 years of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund is 7.1%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (12.2%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is 13.9%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 18.4% 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.'

• The volatility over 5 years of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund is 20.7%, 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 historical 30 days volatility of 18.8% is higher, thus worse.

DownVol:

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

• Looking at the downside deviation of 14.3% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.9%)
• Looking at downside volatility in of 12.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10.3%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.56) in the period of the last 5 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.22 of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) is 0.6, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.04 from the benchmark.

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 0.32 in the last 5 years of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.82)
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is 0.89, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 1.54 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 (8.46 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Downside risk index of 12 of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund is greater, thus worse.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 6.44 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (3.53 ).

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 -28.2 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -25.3 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 time in days below previous high water mark of 672 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days under water of 201 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.'

• Looking at the average time in days below previous high water mark of 210 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
• During the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark is 45 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 21 days from the benchmark.