Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares (VBISX)

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

• Looking at the total return, or performance of 8.2% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (83.2%)
• Looking at total return, or performance in of 14.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (81.9%).

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.'

• Looking at the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.6% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.9%)
• During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is 4.7%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 22.2% 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 historical 30 days volatility of 3% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.2%)
• During the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility is 2.6%, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 15.3% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (11.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 2% of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares is lower, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (10.2%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside volatility of 1.6% is lower, thus better.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio was developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe, and is used to help investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risk. The ratio is the average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of volatility or total risk. Subtracting the risk-free rate from the mean return allows an investor to better isolate the profits associated with risk-taking activities. One intuition of this calculation is that a portfolio engaging in 'zero risk' investments, such as the purchase of U.S. Treasury bills (for which the expected return is the risk-free rate), has a Sharpe ratio of exactly zero. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return.'

• The risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares is -0.31, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.61) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is 0.84, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 1.28 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.'

• The downside risk / excess return profile over 5 years of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares is -0.46, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.88) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (1.92) in the period of the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 1.37 is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 3.52 in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.46 )
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 0.61 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (3.37 ).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -8.5 days of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares is greater, thus better.
• Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -1.5 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better 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) in days.'

• Looking at the maximum days below previous high of 728 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares, we see it is relatively higher, 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 below previous high of 125 days is larger, 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.'

• The average time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Investor Shares is 236 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (118 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark is 31 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 18 days from the benchmark.