Description

The investment seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income. The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. It is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 15 to 30 years.

Statistics (YTD)

What do these metrics mean? [Read More] [Hide]

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (107.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or increase in value of -36% of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
  • Compared with SPY (48.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of -12.6% is smaller, 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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (15.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of -8.5% of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
  • Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of -4.4% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (14%).

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.9%) in the period of the last 5 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 15% of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund is smaller, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (18.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 15.9% is lower, thus better.

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (12.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside volatility of 10.8% of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund is smaller, thus better.
  • During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 11.3%, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 12.4% from the benchmark.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio is the measure of risk-adjusted return of a financial portfolio. Sharpe ratio is a measure of excess portfolio return over the risk-free rate relative to its standard deviation. Normally, the 90-day Treasury bill rate is taken as the proxy for risk-free rate. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe ratio is considered superior relative to its peers. The measure was named after William F Sharpe, a Nobel laureate and professor of finance, emeritus at Stanford University.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) over 5 years of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund is -0.74, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.74) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) is -0.43, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.63 from the benchmark.

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.06) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of -1.02 of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
  • Looking at excess return divided by the downside deviation in of -0.61 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.93).

Ulcer:

'The Ulcer Index is a technical indicator that measures downside risk, in terms of both the depth and duration of price declines. The index increases in value as the price moves farther away from a recent high and falls as the price rises to new highs. The indicator is usually calculated over a 14-day period, with the Ulcer Index showing the percentage drawdown a trader can expect from the high over that period. The greater the value of the Ulcer Index, the longer it takes for a stock to get back to the former high.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (8.48 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 30 of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund is higher, thus worse.
  • Looking at Ulcer Index in of 14 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (5.54 ).

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown is defined as the peak-to-trough decline of an investment during a specific period. It is usually quoted as a percentage of the peak value. The maximum drawdown can be calculated based on absolute returns, in order to identify strategies that suffer less during market downturns, such as low-volatility strategies. However, the maximum drawdown can also be calculated based on returns relative to a benchmark index, for identifying strategies that show steady outperformance over time.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the maximum drop from peak to valley of -46.2 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
  • During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -26.7 days, which is lower, thus worse than the value of -18.8 days from the benchmark.

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'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The maximum days under water over 5 years of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund is 1197 days, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark is 696 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 199 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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The average days under water over 5 years of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund is 576 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 326 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 45 days from the benchmark.

Performance (YTD)

Historical returns have been extended using synthetic data.

Allocations ()

Allocations

Returns (%)

  • Note that yearly returns do not equal the sum of monthly returns due to compounding.
  • Performance results of Vanguard Long Term Treasury Fund are hypothetical and do not account for slippage, fees or taxes.