Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund (VFSTX)

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 over 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund is 11.3%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (105.3%) in the same period.
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 20.6% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (93.8%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (15.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 2.2% of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at annual return (CAGR) in of 6.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (24.8%).

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 30 days standard deviation of 2.9% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (17.2%)
• Compared with SPY (16.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 3.1% is lower, thus better.

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 risk of 1.9% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.9%)
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk is 1.8%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 10.6% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.76) in the period of the last 5 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of -0.11 of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (1.37) in the period of the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 1.28 is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• The excess return divided by the downside deviation over 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund is -0.17, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.1) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is 2.17, which is larger, thus better than the value of 2.12 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.'

• Looking at the Downside risk index of 3.57 in the last 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.42 )
• Compared with SPY (3.62 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 0.62 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -9.4 days of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund is higher, thus better.
• Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -2 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, 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) in days.'

• The maximum time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund is 711 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum days below previous high in of 126 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (87 days).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (120 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 231 days of Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (21 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days under water of 24 days is greater, thus worse.