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 performance of 8.3% 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 (60.7%)
• Looking at total return, or performance in of -1.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (29.5%).

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 (10%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 1.6% of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is -0.6%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 9% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (20.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 6.1% of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is lower, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the volatility is 7.3%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 24% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

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

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (15.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside volatility of 4.7% of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is smaller, thus better.
• Looking at downside volatility in of 5.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (17.6%).

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.'

• The Sharpe Ratio over 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is -0.15, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.36) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is -0.43, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 0.27 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 excess return divided by the downside deviation of -0.19 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 (0.49)
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is -0.55, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.37 from the benchmark.

Ulcer:

'The ulcer index is a stock market risk measure or technical analysis indicator devised by Peter Martin in 1987, and published by him and Byron McCann in their 1989 book The Investors Guide to Fidelity Funds. It's designed as a measure of volatility, but only volatility in the downward direction, i.e. the amount of drawdown or retracement occurring over a period. Other volatility measures like standard deviation treat up and down movement equally, but a trader doesn't mind upward movement, it's the downside that causes stress and stomach ulcers that the index's name suggests.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 3.83 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 (7.52 )
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 4.81 , which is lower, thus better than the value of 8.81 from the benchmark.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -19.7 days of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is higher, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -19.7 days is larger, thus better.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 182 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (182 days)
• Compared with SPY (182 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 182 days is larger, thus worse.

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.'

• The average time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund is 44 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (45 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 48 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 43 days from the benchmark.