Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund (VFITX)

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.'

• Looking at the total return of 20% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (77.4%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or performance is 15.8%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 43.3% 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.'

• Looking at the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.1%)
• During the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) is 5%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 12.7% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (19%) in the period of the last 5 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 3.6% of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is smaller, thus better.
• Looking at volatility in of 3.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (22%).

DownVol:

'Downside risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference. 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.'

• The downside risk over 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is 2.4%, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (13.9%) in the same period.
• Looking at downside risk in of 2.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (16.2%).

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 (0.51) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.34 of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (0.46) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.68 is higher, thus better.

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 Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is 0.51, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.7) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile is 1.08, which is larger, thus better than the value of 0.63 from the benchmark.

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 (5.87 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 2.53 of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus better.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 2.12 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (7.01 ).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -5.5 days of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is larger, thus better.
• Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -4.7 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (-33.7 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'

• Looking at the maximum days below previous high of 681 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (139 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark is 377 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 139 days from the benchmark.

AveDuration:

'The Average 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. 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 below previous high over 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is 212 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (37 days) in the same period.
• Looking at average days under water in of 116 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (45 days).