GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy

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.'

• Looking at the total return of 34.3% in the last 5 years of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (84.2%)
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 39.2%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 75.9% 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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (13.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual performance (CAGR) of 6.1% of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy is lower, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (20.8%) in the period of the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 11.7% is lower, 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.'

• The historical 30 days volatility over 5 years of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy is 12.2%, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (17.1%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (15.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 10.7% 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.'

• The downside risk over 5 years of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy is 8.7%, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (11.8%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk is 7.4%, which is smaller, thus better than the value of 10.3% from the benchmark.

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 SPY (0.62) in the period of the last 5 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.3 of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy is smaller, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (1.2) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.86 is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• The downside risk / excess return profile over 5 years of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy is 0.41, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.89) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation is 1.25, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 1.78 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.'

• The Downside risk index over 5 years of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy is 6.61 , which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (8.45 ) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (3.51 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 3.38 is lower, thus better.

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.'

• Looking at the maximum drop from peak to valley of -19.9 days in the last 5 years of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
• Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -10.2 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (-18.8 days).

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.'

• The maximum days under water over 5 years of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy is 539 days, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum days under water in of 132 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (87 days).

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 SPY (119 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 148 days of GSRS Low Volatility Sub-strategy is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at average days below previous high in of 30 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (20 days).