Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy

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.'

• Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 120.9% in the last 5 years of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark GLD (101.1%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return is 74.6%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 136.3% from the benchmark.

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 GLD (15%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2% of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy is larger, thus better.
• Compared with GLD (33.4%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 20.5% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark GLD (15.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 12.4% of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy is smaller, thus better.
• Compared with GLD (16.2%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 10.1% 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.'

• The downside deviation over 5 years of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy is 8.2%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark GLD (10.8%) in the same period.
• Looking at downside volatility in of 6.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to GLD (10.7%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark GLD (0.8) in the period of the last 5 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 1.19 of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy is greater, thus better.
• Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 1.78 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to GLD (1.91).

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.'

• The ratio of annual return and downside deviation over 5 years of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy is 1.79, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark GLD (1.16) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is 2.78, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 2.9 from the benchmark.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark GLD (7.71 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Downside risk index of 2.77 of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy is smaller, thus better.
• Looking at Ulcer Ratio in of 2.38 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to GLD (3.7 ).

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.'

• The maximum reduction from previous high over 5 years of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy is -7.6 days, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark GLD (-21 days) in the same period.
• Compared with GLD (-11.3 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown of -6.9 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.'

• Looking at the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 171 days in the last 5 years of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark GLD (436 days)
• Compared with GLD (145 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 125 days is smaller, thus better.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark GLD (135 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 39 days of Gold-USD Low volatility Sub-strategy is lower, thus better.
• Compared with GLD (28 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 32 days is larger, thus worse.