Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

• The total return, or performance over 5 years of Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy is 43.5%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (66.2%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (47.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of 25.9% is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• The annual return (CAGR) over 5 years of Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy is 7.5%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (10.7%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the annual return (CAGR) is 8%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 13.9% 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.'

• Looking at the volatility of 6.7% in the last 5 years of Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (13.3%)
• Looking at 30 days standard deviation in of 6.4% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (12.5%).

DownVol:

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

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (14.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside volatility of 7.5% of Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy is lower, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk is 7.3%, which is lower, thus better than the value of 14.2% 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.'

• The risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy is 0.74, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.62) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (0.91) in the period of the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 0.86 is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.56) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.67 of Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy is greater, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (0.8) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of 0.75 is lower, thus worse.

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 Ulcer Index over 5 years of Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy is 3.26 , which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (3.96 ) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (4.01 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Downside risk index of 3.28 is lower, thus worse.

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 Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy is -9.1 days, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-19.3 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum DrawDown is -9.1 days, which is greater, thus better than the value of -19.3 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.'

• The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy is 289 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (187 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (139 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days under water of 289 days is larger, 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.'

• The average days under water over 5 years of Enhanced Permanent Portfolio Strategy is 75 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (41 days) in the same period.
• Looking at average days under water in of 77 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (36 days).