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.'

• Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 5% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (78.4%)
• Looking at total return, or performance in of 2.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (44.1%).

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 (12.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1% of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (12.9%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 0.8% is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (19.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 1.5% of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 1.6%, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 23.1% 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.'

• Looking at the downside deviation of 1% 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 (14.6%)
• Compared with SPY (16.9%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside deviation of 1.1% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.49) in the period of the last 5 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of -1.03 of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of -1.04 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.45).

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 downside risk / excess return profile over 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is -1.56, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.67) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (0.62) in the period of the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of -1.54 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (6.16 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Index of 0.97 of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus better.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 1.11 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (6.87 ).

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 drop from peak to valley of -4.3 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 (-33.7 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -4.3 days, which is higher, thus better than the value of -33.7 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'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (139 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 320 days of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is greater, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum time in days below previous high water mark in of 239 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (119 days).

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 days under water over 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Treasury Fund is 82 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (35 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 59 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 27 days from the benchmark.