Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund (VFISX)

TotalReturn:

'The total return on a portfolio of investments takes into account not only the capital appreciation on the portfolio, but also the income received on the portfolio. The income typically consists of interest, dividends, and securities lending fees. This contrasts with the price return, which takes into account only the capital gain on an investment.'

• The total return, or increase in value over 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is 4.1%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (109.5%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 7.4%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 48.7% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (16%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 0.8% of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (14.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 2.4% is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 2.5% of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus better.
• Looking at historical 30 days volatility in of 3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (18.1%).

DownVol:

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

• Looking at the downside volatility of 1.6% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.4%)
• Compared with SPY (12.2%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside volatility of 1.9% is lower, thus better.

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 (0.75) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of -0.67 of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is -0.03, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 0.65 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.'

• The excess return divided by the downside deviation over 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is -1.03, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.08) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (0.96) in the period of the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of -0.04 is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 3.06 in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.49 )
• Compared with SPY (5.56 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 1.32 is lower, 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.'

• Looking at the maximum reduction from previous high of -6.9 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -3.5 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, 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). 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'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days below previous high of 788 days of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (199 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 379 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.'

• Looking at the average days under water of 282 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
• Compared with SPY (45 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 118 days is higher, thus worse.