Description

The investment seeks to provide a high level of current income. The fund invests primarily in a diversified group of high-yielding, higher-risk corporate bonds-commonly known as "junk bonds"-with medium- and lower-range credit-quality ratings. It invests at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below Baa by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's); have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the fund's advisor. The fund's high-yield bonds and loans mostly have short- and intermediate-term maturities.

Statistics (YTD)

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

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The total return over 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is 24.8%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (106.2%) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (69.9%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of 26.9% is lower, thus worse.

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the annual performance (CAGR) of 4.6% 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 (15.6%)
  • During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is 8.3%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 19.5% from the benchmark.

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 (17.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 4.9% of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is lower, thus better.
  • Looking at 30 days standard deviation in of 5.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (17.7%).

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Looking at the downside risk of 3.3% in the last 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.2%)
  • Compared with SPY (11.6%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk of 3.3% is lower, thus better.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.74) in the period of the last 5 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 0.42 of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is lower, thus worse.
  • During the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) is 1.12, which is larger, thus better than the value of 0.96 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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.08) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.62 of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is lower, thus worse.
  • Compared with SPY (1.46) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 1.78 is greater, thus better.

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 Downside risk index of 4.64 of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is lower, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (5.32 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 2.02 is smaller, thus better.

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -13.8 days of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is larger, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown of -8.1 days is larger, thus better.

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:
  • Looking at the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 489 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 (488 days)
  • During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 109 days, which is lower, thus better 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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The average days below previous high over 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is 125 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (120 days) in the same period.
  • Looking at average time in days below previous high water mark in of 27 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (46 days).

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 High Yield Corporate Fund are hypothetical and do not account for slippage, fees or taxes.