Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund (VWEHX)

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.'

• Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 21.2% in the last 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (84.4%)
• Looking at total return, or performance in of 25.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (71.1%).

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 (13.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 3.9% of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of 8% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (19.7%).

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.'

• The volatility over 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is 4.9%, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (17.2%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (15.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 3.8% is lower, thus better.

DownVol:

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

• The downside risk over 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is 3.3%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (11.8%) in the same period.
• Looking at downside deviation in of 2.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (10.3%).

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio (also known as the Sharpe index, the Sharpe measure, and the reward-to-variability ratio) is a way to examine the performance of an investment by adjusting for its risk. The ratio measures the excess return (or risk premium) per unit of deviation in an investment asset or a trading strategy, typically referred to as risk, named after William F. Sharpe.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.62) in the period of the last 5 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.29 of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is 1.46, which is larger, thus better than the value of 1.12 from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.43 in the last 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.89)
• Compared with SPY (1.67) in the period of the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 2.47 is larger, thus better.

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 (8.45 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Downside risk index of 4.64 of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is lower, thus better.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 0.76 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (3.52 ).

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.'

• Looking at the maximum drop from peak to valley of -13.9 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high is -3.3 days, which is higher, thus better than the value of -18.8 days from the benchmark.

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 below previous high of 561 days of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is higher, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark is 42 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 87 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 158 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
• Looking at average days under water in of 12 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (21 days).