|
|
Tracking Error
|
|
|
|
Tracking error indicates the difference between the return of the fund and that of the benchmark it was meant to track or beat. A Low tracking error means a fund is closely tracking its benchmark while a high tracking errors indicates the opposite.
As a general rule, the tracking error for passively managed funds, such as index funds, should be as low as possible. Actively managed funds usually seek to beat its benchmark. In these cases, the investor generally seeks to maximize tracking error. A high tracking error might also indicate that the fund should be measured against a more appropriate benchmark.
|
|
|
|
|
R Squared
|
|
|
|
|
The R-squared of a fund indicates if the fund is being compared to an appropriate benchmark. R-squared describes the portion of a funds performance that is explained by movements in the market benchmark. R-squared can help an investor assess the usefulness of a fund’s beta or alpha statistics. For example, the higher the R-squared value the more you can trust the fund’s alpha and beta statistics. The R-squared value varies from 0 to 1 and values greater than 0.85 are often considered high while a value less than 0.70 would be considered low.
|
|
|
|
|
Alpha
|
|
|
|
Alpha is the amount by which an investment’s actual return exceeds or falls short of its expected return given its level of risk (beta). A positive alpha indicates that an investment has performed better than expected given its beta; whereas, a negative alpha indicates poorer performance.
For instance, with an R-squared value we can trust, an alpha of 1.2 infers that a fund is projected to increase 20% when the fund’s "beta" is zero.
|
|
|
|
|
Beta
|
|
|
|
|
Beta measures how much a fund is likely to move with the general market. Assuming a high R-squared value beta can be used to predict the fund’s expected return: When the beta of the fund is 0.6, the value of the fund rises by on average 0.6% when the benchmark index rises by 1%. Correspondingly, when the benchmark index falls by 1%, the value of the fund falls on average by 0.6%.
|
|
|
|
|
Sharpe
|
|
|
|
The Sharpe ratio is a performance figure which has been adjusted for the risk the fund has taken to achieve it’s actual performance i.e. it reveals the risk/return efficiency of a fund. With this ratio we can compare funds with similar risk characteristics to identify the most efficient portfolio. The higher the Sharpe ratio, the better the fund's historical risk-adjusted performance. Sharpe ratio should only be used when comparing funds in a common peer group.
When stock markets perform poorly, most equity funds will exhibit negative Sharpe ratios. Ranking negative Sharpe ratios can be misleading since a smaller negative is a larger number. This can lead to results that are ambiguous and logically backwards. Therefore we don’t display Sharpe ratios or include them in the Quartile ranking when the ratio is negative.
|
|
|
|
|
Information Ratio
|
|
|
|
|
The information ratio can be used as a measurement of the active investment manager’s skill. The fund with the higher information ratio has earned more value added per unit of departure from the benchmark. A ratio of 0.5 is considered a satisfactory measure while a negative value indicates that the fund underperformed its benchmark.
|
|
|
|
|
Volatility
|
|
|
|
Volatility (standard deviation) refers to the amount of uncertainty about the size of changes in funds value. A higher volatility means that the price of the fund can change dramatically in either direction in short time. A lower volatility indicates that the funds value does not fluctuate dramatically.
For example, for a fund with a volatility figure of 2% and a mean annual return of 5%, you would expect the return to be between 3% and 7% about 68% of the time, and between 1% and 9% about 95% of the time.
|
|
|
