Description

The World Country South America 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

ARGT Global X MSCI Argentina ETF
ECH iShares MSCI Chile Fund
EPU iShares MSCI Peru Index
EWW iShares MSCI Mexico Index Fund
EWZ iShares MSCI Brazil Index Fund
GXG 
Global X MSCI Colombia ETF

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:

'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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (100.7%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or increase in value of 144.6% of World Countries South America is greater, thus better.
  • Looking at total return in of 76.4% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (33.2%).

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:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (15%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 19.6% of World Countries South America is higher, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (10%) in the period of the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.8% is greater, thus better.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the historical 30 days volatility of 27.1% in the last 5 years of World Countries South America, we see it is relatively higher, 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 24.1% is larger, thus worse.

DownVol:

'Downside risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference. 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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The downside deviation over 5 years of World Countries South America is 19.2%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (15%) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (12%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside risk of 16.2% is higher, thus worse.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio (also known as the Sharpe index, the Sharpe measure, and the reward-to-variability ratio) is a way to examine the performance of an investment by adjusting for its risk. The ratio measures the excess return (or risk premium) per unit of deviation in an investment asset or a trading strategy, typically referred to as risk, named after William F. Sharpe.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Looking at the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.63 in the last 5 years of World Countries South America, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.6)
  • During the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) is 0.76, which is higher, thus better than the value of 0.44 from the benchmark.

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.83) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.89 of World Countries South America is higher, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (0.62) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 1.13 is higher, thus better.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the Ulcer Index of 13 in the last 5 years of World Countries South America, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (9.32 )
  • During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 11 , which is higher, thus worse than the value of 10 from the benchmark.

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.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The maximum DrawDown over 5 years of World Countries South America is -45 days, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (-24.5 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -28.8 days is smaller, thus worse.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The maximum days below previous high over 5 years of World Countries South America is 220 days, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the same period.
  • Looking at maximum days under water in of 201 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (488 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.'

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 63 days of World Countries South America is smaller, thus better.
  • During the last 3 years, the average days below previous high is 58 days, which is lower, 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 South America 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.