Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund (VFITX)

TotalReturn:

'Total return, when measuring performance, is the actual rate of return of an investment or a pool of investments over a given evaluation period. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends and distributions realized over a given period of time. Total return accounts for two categories of return: income including interest paid by fixed-income investments, distributions or dividends and capital appreciation, representing the change in the market price of an asset.'

• The total return, or performance over 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is -4%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (115.1%) in the same period.
• Looking at total return, or performance in of 4.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (71.1%).

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 (16.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of -0.8% of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (19.7%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 1.6% is lower, thus worse.

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 historical 30 days volatility over 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is 5.5%, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (17.5%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility is 6.3%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 17.5% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

'Downside risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference. 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.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 3.8% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.1%)
• Looking at downside deviation in of 4.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (11.5%).

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.'

• Looking at the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of -0.6 in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.8)
• Compared with SPY (0.98) in the period of the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio of -0.14 is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.17) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of -0.87 of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of -0.21 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.49).

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.'

• The Ulcer Ratio over 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is 8.39 , which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (8.48 ) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (5.31 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 3.8 is lower, 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.'

• Looking at the maximum drop from peak to valley of -15.5 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -8.3 days, which is larger, 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.'

• The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund is 1234 days, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 501 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.'

• Looking at the average time in days below previous high water mark of 612 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (120 days)
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 186 days, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 47 days from the benchmark.