Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX)

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.'

• Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 56.7% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (94.2%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 72.6%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 81.9% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4% in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (14.3%)
• Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of 20.1% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (22.2%).

Volatility:

'In finance, volatility (symbol σ) is the degree of variation of a trading price series over time as measured by the standard deviation of logarithmic returns. Historic volatility measures a time series of past market prices. Implied volatility looks forward in time, being derived from the market price of a market-traded derivative (in particular, an option). Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.'

• The 30 days standard deviation over 5 years of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund is 14.6%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (17%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation is 12.9%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 15.1% 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.'

• The downside volatility over 5 years of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund is 10.1%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (11.7%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (10.1%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk of 8.8% is lower, thus better.

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.'

• The risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund is 0.48, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.69) in the same period.
• Looking at ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) in of 1.36 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (1.3).

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 (1) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.69 of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at downside risk / excess return profile in of 2 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (1.95).

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 Ratio of 10 in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (8.42 )
• Looking at Ulcer Index in of 3.54 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (3.4 ).

MaxDD:

'A maximum drawdown is the maximum loss from a peak to a trough of a portfolio, before a new peak is attained. Maximum Drawdown is an indicator of downside risk over a specified time period. It can be used both as a stand-alone measure or as an input into other metrics such as 'Return over Maximum Drawdown' and the Calmar Ratio. Maximum Drawdown is expressed in percentage terms.'

• Looking at the maximum drop from peak to valley of -29.6 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -13.1 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (-18.8 days).

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 below previous high of 734 days in the last 5 years of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 117 days is greater, 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 days under water over 5 years of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund is 243 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 25 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 19 days from the benchmark.