Description

The Bond Rotation Strategy is one of our core investment strategies. It is appropriate for investors looking to collect bond dividends while pursuing growth by rotating between bond sectors. The strategy evaluates and allocates to the best performing bond ETFs including treasuries, TIPS, foreign, high-yield and convertible bonds. This is a good strategy if you are looking for a long-term bond investment with medium risk.

The strategy has been updated (as of May 1st, 2020) to allocate 40%-60% to our HEDGE sub-strategy. The statistics below reflect the updated model.

Statistics (YTD)

What do these metrics mean? [Read More] [Hide]

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The total return, or performance over 5 years of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy is 39.6%, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark AGG (-3.9%) in the same period.
  • Looking at total return, or performance in of 12.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to AGG (6.8%).

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The annual performance (CAGR) over 5 years of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy is 6.9%, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark AGG (-0.8%) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) is 4%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 2.2% 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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the historical 30 days volatility of 6.1% in the last 5 years of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark AGG (6%)
  • Compared with AGG (6.7%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 5.7% is smaller, thus better.

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark AGG (4.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside volatility of 4.1% of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy is lower, thus better.
  • Looking at downside deviation in of 3.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to AGG (4.6%).

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy is 0.73, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark AGG (-0.55) in the same period.
  • Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 0.26 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to AGG (-0.04).

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark AGG (-0.77) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 1.07 of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy is greater, thus better.
  • During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is 0.38, which is higher, thus better than the value of -0.06 from the benchmark.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark AGG (9.5 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Index of 2.45 of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy is lower, thus better.
  • Looking at Downside risk index in of 2.53 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to AGG (3.79 ).

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The maximum drop from peak to valley over 5 years of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy is -6.6 days, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark AGG (-18.4 days) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -6.6 days, which is higher, thus better than the value of -9.8 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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The maximum days under water over 5 years of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy is 217 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark AGG (1232 days) in the same period.
  • Compared with AGG (487 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days under water of 197 days is lower, thus better.

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark AGG (613 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 67 days of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy is smaller, thus better.
  • During the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark is 55 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 190 days from the benchmark.

Performance (YTD)

Historical returns have been extended using synthetic data.

Allocations ()

Allocations

Returns (%)

  • Note that yearly returns do not equal the sum of monthly returns due to compounding.
  • Performance results of Bond ETF Rotation Strategy are hypothetical and do not account for slippage, fees or taxes.
  • Results may be based on backtesting, which has many inherent limitations, some of which are described in our Terms of Use.