Description

The World Country Developed strategy is a sub-strategy that picks the top country of the specified region. It is part of the World Top 4 investment strategy.

Methodology & Assets

SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF
DIA SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF
EIRL iShares MSCI Ireland Capped
EIS iShares MSCI Israel
ENZL iShares MSCI New Zealand Investable Market
EPOL iShares MSCI Poland Index
EWA iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund
EWC iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund
EWD iShares MSCI Sweden Index
EWG iShares MSCI Germany Index
EWH iShares MSCI Hong Kong Index Fund
EWI iShares MSCI Italy Index
EWJ iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund
EWK iShares MSCI Belgium Index
EWL iShares MSCI Switzerland
EWM iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund
EWN iShares MSCI Netherlands Index
EWO iShares MSCI Austria Index
EWP iShares MSCI Spain Index
EWQ iShares MSCI France
EWU iShares MSCI United Kingdom Index
NORW Global X FTSE Norway 30 ETF
QQQ PowerShares Nasdaq-100 Index

From the HEDGE strategy:
GLD – SPDR Gold Shares
TLT– iShares Barclays Long-Term Treasuries (15-18yr)

Short Sectors:

SMN - ProShares UltraShort Basic Materials
ERY - Direxion Daily Energy Bear 3X ETF
SKF - ProShares UltraShort Financials
SIJ - ProShares UltraShort Industrial
REW - ProShares UltraShort Technology
RXD - ProShares UltraShort Health Car
SCC - ProShares UltraShort Consumer Service
SDP - ProShares UltraShort Utilities
SZK - ProShares UltraShort Consumer Goods

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The total return, or increase in value over 5 years of World Countries Developed is 211.8%, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (100.7%) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 64.9%, which is greater, thus better than the value of 33.2% 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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (15%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.6% of World Countries Developed is greater, thus better.
  • During the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) is 18.1%, which is greater, thus better than the value of 10% 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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Looking at the historical 30 days volatility of 22.2% in the last 5 years of World Countries Developed, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse 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 18.3% is larger, thus worse.

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (15%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 15.4% of World Countries Developed is higher, thus worse.
  • Looking at downside volatility in of 12.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (12%).

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:
  • Looking at the Sharpe Ratio of 1.04 in the last 5 years of World Countries Developed, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.6)
  • Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 0.85 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.44).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio measures the risk-adjusted return of an investment asset, portfolio, or strategy. It is a modification of the Sharpe ratio but penalizes only those returns falling below a user-specified target or required rate of return, while the Sharpe ratio penalizes both upside and downside volatility equally. Though both ratios measure an investment's risk-adjusted return, they do so in significantly different ways that will frequently lead to differing conclusions as to the true nature of the investment's return-generating efficiency. The Sortino ratio is used as a way to compare the risk-adjusted performance of programs with differing risk and return profiles. In general, risk-adjusted returns seek to normalize the risk across programs and then see which has the higher return unit per risk.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.83) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 1.5 of World Countries Developed is higher, thus better.
  • Looking at downside risk / excess return profile in of 1.27 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.62).

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The Ulcer Ratio over 5 years of World Countries Developed is 6.65 , which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (9.32 ) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (10 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 6.65 is lower, thus better.

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -28.6 days of World Countries Developed is higher, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -17.3 days is larger, thus better.

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of World Countries Developed is 263 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the maximum days under water is 263 days, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 488 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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (123 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 53 days of World Countries Developed is lower, thus better.
  • During the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark is 66 days, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 180 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 World Countries Developed 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.