Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund (VIPSX)

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.'

• The total return, or performance over 5 years of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund is 18.2%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (78.4%) in the same period.
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 14.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, 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 annual return (CAGR) of 3.4% of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of 4.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (12.9%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (19.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 5.2% of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund is smaller, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 6.2%, which is lower, 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (14.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 3.5% of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund is lower, thus better.
• Looking at downside deviation in of 4.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (16.9%).

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.'

• Looking at the Sharpe Ratio of 0.18 in the last 5 years of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.49)
• Compared with SPY (0.45) in the period of the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 0.35 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.67) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.26 of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at downside risk / excess return profile in of 0.52 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.62).

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 Ratio of 1.69 of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund is smaller, thus better.
• Looking at Ulcer Index in of 1.88 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.'

• The maximum DrawDown over 5 years of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund is -8.9 days, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum DrawDown in of -8.9 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, 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'

• 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 377 days of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at maximum time in days below previous high water mark in of 132 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, 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.'

• Looking at the average days below previous high of 83 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (35 days)
• Compared with SPY (27 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 32 days is greater, thus worse.