Willis Towers Watson (WLTW)

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

• Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 96.2% in the last 5 years of Willis Towers Watson, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (85.8%)
• Looking at total return, or performance in of 59.1% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (78.5%).

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 (13.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 14.4% of Willis Towers Watson is greater, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) is 16.7%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 21.4% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.2%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 25.5% of Willis Towers Watson is larger, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility is 29.7%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 15.4% from the benchmark.

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.'

• Looking at the downside deviation of 17.8% in the last 5 years of Willis Towers Watson, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (11.8%)
• Compared with SPY (10.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside volatility of 20.7% is greater, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.63) in the period of the last 5 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 0.47 of Willis Towers Watson is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 0.48 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.23).

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 (0.91) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.67 of Willis Towers Watson is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (1.84) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.68 is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (8.46 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 7.99 of Willis Towers Watson is lower, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (3.38 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 9.23 is higher, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -32.9 days of Willis Towers Watson is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -32.9 days is lower, thus worse.

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'

• Looking at the maximum days below previous high of 252 days in the last 5 years of Willis Towers Watson, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high is 252 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 87 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 days under water of 60 days in the last 5 years of Willis Towers Watson, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
• Looking at average days below previous high in of 77 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (18 days).