Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund (VFITX)

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (116.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return of 8.3% of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (63.4%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of 12.3% is lower, thus worse.

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 annual return (CAGR) of 1.6% 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 (16.8%)
• Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of 3.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (17.8%).

Volatility:

'Volatility is a rate at which the price of a security increases or decreases for a given set of returns. Volatility is measured by calculating the standard deviation of the annualized returns over a given period of time. It shows the range to which the price of a security may increase or decrease. Volatility measures the risk of a security. It is used in option pricing formula to gauge the fluctuations in the returns of the underlying assets. Volatility indicates the pricing behavior of the security and helps estimate the fluctuations that may happen in a short period of time.'

• Looking at the 30 days standard deviation of 3.9% 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 (18.7%)
• Compared with SPY (22.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 4.2% is lower, thus better.

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 2.8%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (13.6%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 3.1%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 16.3% 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 -0.23, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.76) in the same period.
• Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 0.35 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.68).

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.'

• Looking at the excess return divided by the downside deviation of -0.31 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 (1.05)
• Looking at excess return divided by the downside deviation in of 0.47 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.94).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (5.58 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Downside risk index of 3.5 of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (6.83 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 1.91 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 -6.8 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days)
• Compared with SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -6.8 days is higher, thus better.

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 (139 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days below previous high of 724 days of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 180 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 139 days from the benchmark.

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 time in days below previous high water mark of 244 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (33 days)
• Looking at average days under water in of 41 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (35 days).