Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBMFX)

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 of -0.7% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (86.7%)
• Compared with SPY (25.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return, or performance of -10.4% is lower, thus worse.

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

• Looking at the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of -0.1% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (13.3%)
• During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is -3.6%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 7.8% 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.'

• Looking at the volatility of 5.9% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (20.9%)
• Compared with SPY (17.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 6.7% is smaller, 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 Total Bond Market Index Fund is 4.2%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (15%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the downside deviation is 4.8%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 12.1% 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.'

• Looking at the Sharpe Ratio of -0.45 in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.52)
• Looking at ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) in of -0.91 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.3).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio, a variation of the Sharpe ratio only factors in the downside, or negative volatility, rather than the total volatility used in calculating the Sharpe ratio. The theory behind the Sortino variation is that upside volatility is a plus for the investment, and it, therefore, should not be included in the risk calculation. Therefore, the Sortino ratio takes upside volatility out of the equation and uses only the downside standard deviation in its calculation instead of the total standard deviation that is used in calculating the Sharpe ratio.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.72) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of -0.62 of Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is -1.26, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 0.43 from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the Ulcer Index of 8.87 in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (9.33 )
• Looking at Downside risk index in of 11 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10 ).

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.'

• The maximum DrawDown over 5 years of Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund is -18.9 days, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high is -18.2 days, which is higher, thus better than the value of -24.5 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) in days.'

• The maximum days under water over 5 years of Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund is 932 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 680 days is greater, thus worse.

AveDuration:

'The Average 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. 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 374 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (123 days)
• Looking at average time in days below previous high water mark in of 316 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (178 days).