Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund (VFITX)

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.'

• The total return, or performance over 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is 0.7%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (94.2%) in the same period.
• Looking at total return, or performance in of -7.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (27.9%).

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 annual return (CAGR) over 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is 0.1%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (14.2%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (8.6%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of -2.6% 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.'

• Looking at the historical 30 days volatility of 5.4% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (20.9%)
• Compared with SPY (17.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 6.3% is smaller, thus better.

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 3.8% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (15%)
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk is 4.4%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 12.1% from the benchmark.

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 Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is -0.43, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.56) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (0.35) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of -0.82 is smaller, thus worse.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio measures the risk-adjusted return of an investment asset, portfolio, or strategy. It is a modification of the Sharpe ratio but penalizes only those returns falling below a user-specified target or required rate of return, while the Sharpe ratio penalizes both upside and downside volatility equally. Though both ratios measure an investment's risk-adjusted return, they do so in significantly different ways that will frequently lead to differing conclusions as to the true nature of the investment's return-generating efficiency. The Sortino ratio is used as a way to compare the risk-adjusted performance of programs with differing risk and return profiles. In general, risk-adjusted returns seek to normalize the risk across programs and then see which has the higher return unit per risk.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.78) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of -0.63 of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is -1.17, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.5 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 (9.32 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 7.91 of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is smaller, thus better.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 9.65 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (10 ).

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 -15.5 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days)
• Looking at maximum DrawDown in of -15 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (-24.5 days).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days under water of 999 days of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 748 days is higher, thus worse.

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.'

• Looking at the average time in days below previous high water mark of 419 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 (123 days)
• Looking at average days below previous high in of 374 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (180 days).