Description

The investment seeks to track the investment results of the FTSE China 50 Index composed of large-capitalization Chinese equities that trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The fund generally invests at least 90% of its assets in securities of the underlying index and in depositary receipts representing securities of the underlying index. The index designed to measure the performance of the largest companies in the Chinese equity market that trade on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) and are available to international investors, as determined by FTSE International Limited (the index provider or FTSE). The fund is non-diversified.

Statistics (YTD)

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

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The total return, or increase in value over 5 years of iShares China Large-Cap ETF is 0.1%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (106.3%) in the same period.
  • Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 23.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (31.3%).

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over 5 years of iShares China Large-Cap ETF is 0%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (15.6%) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (9.6%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 7.3% is smaller, 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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The historical 30 days volatility over 5 years of iShares China Large-Cap ETF is 32.4%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (18%) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (18.8%) in the period of the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 33.2% is greater, thus worse.

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The downside deviation over 5 years of iShares China Large-Cap ETF is 21.1%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (12.5%) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (13%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside deviation of 22.3% is greater, thus worse.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.73) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of -0.08 of iShares China Large-Cap ETF is smaller, thus worse.
  • Looking at ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) in of 0.15 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.37).

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.05) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of -0.12 of iShares China Large-Cap ETF is lower, thus worse.
  • Compared with SPY (0.54) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.22 is lower, 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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The Downside risk index over 5 years of iShares China Large-Cap ETF is 38 , which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.44 ) in the same period.
  • Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 18 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (5.72 ).

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.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -60.8 days of iShares China Large-Cap ETF is lower, thus worse.
  • During the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley is -38.6 days, which is lower, thus worse than the value of -18.8 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). 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'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of iShares China Large-Cap ETF is 1050 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (199 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 567 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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the average days under water of 452 days in the last 5 years of iShares China Large-Cap ETF, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
  • Compared with SPY (45 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 227 days is higher, thus worse.

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 iShares China Large-Cap ETF are hypothetical and do not account for slippage, fees or taxes.