FlexShares: Expectations For Real Assets

FlexShares: Expectations For Real Assets

This is an excerpt from FlexShares’ research paper on Expectations for Real Assets. Get the full paper here.

Expectations For Real Assets

In any market environment, we believe that real assets should be an essential element of every investment portfolio. Growing numbers of institutional investors have steadily increased their real asset allocations over the past few decades. We believe investors are looking for what real assets can offer: the potential for income, gains and capital preservation in an unclear global environment.

Investors continue to benefit from innovation within a variety of investment vehicles that focus on real assets. Furthermore, strong demand for real assets is being met with an unprecedented supply of opportunities for investment, and we believe trends indicate that it will continue to grow. The Real Assets classification (e.g., timber, water, infrastructure, natural resources, etc.) is continually evolving, influenced not only by new asset types, but also regulatory and issuance changes.

Defining The Asset Class And Its Potential

Real assets—which we define as real estate, infrastructure and natural resources—form the pillars of the global economy. As such, these classifications are inherently tied to global developments, inflation and other macroeconomic trends. Notably, the cash flows that historically have been produced by real assets can be valuable in times of both economic expansion and contraction. Real assets represent physical assets that are often linked to inflation—a favorable characteristic as potential demand rises in periods of economic expansion.

At the same time, increasing demand for the goods and services that real assets provide may be relatively predictable and inelastic (insensitive to changes in price or income), which can be helpful in periods of economic contraction.

While cash-flow stability has historically been characteristic of real asset investments, the fundamentals that drive the cash flows are distinct. As such, real assets can provide an effective way to enhance portfolio diversification beyond traditional stock and bond allocations.

Portfolio Diversification

Real asset returns have historically had low correlations to traditional equity and fixed-income investments. Our findings suggest they can provide an effective way to enhance the diversification of a traditional stock and bond portfolio. Individual real asset categories have also shown low correlations with each other—consequently investors may be able to diversify further by investing in more than one real asset class.

As highlighted in the chart below, the correlations of real estate with infrastructure and natural resources are 0.85 and 0.62, respectively. The return streams of two assets having a correlation of 1.00 would be perfectly correlated. These measures are relatively moderate because the drivers behind the returns of these categories are distinct.

Consider natural resource pricing, which for some assets, like timber, is highly dependent on short-term factors such as climate, temperature and water supply. In contrast, the cash flows from some infrastructure assets, such as toll roads, tend to rise with an expanding economy, while those derived from more essential services, such as utilities, tend to be more highly regulated, and consequently during times of economic weakness tend to have more locked-in levels of usage pricing.

Capital Appreciation Potential

Our research has shown that both income return and capital appreciation represented meaningful amounts of the historical total returns generated by real assets. Historically, many of these hard assets have tended to be long term and increase in value over time as replacement costs rise and operational efficiencies are achieved.

For many investors, this scenario may be visualized within their own daily experience as they observe the leasing of vacant space, the climb of toll road fees, the rising use of energy or increases in lumber prices. We believe that income from real-asset-related investments may help protect value on the downside, while operational efficiencies may enhance value on the upside.

Potentially Higher Risk-Adjusted Returns

Adding real assets may also enhance the risk-adjusted returns* of a mixed-asset portfolio. The chart below shows the various historical Sharpe ratios of the three real asset categories in comparison to stocks and bonds. The Sharpe ratio is a measure of return per unit of risk, which indicates whether an investment’s return sufficiently rewards investors for the level of risk assumed (the higher the Sharpe ratio, the greater the level of risk-adjusted performance).

For example, the 10-year Sharpe ratio for infrastructure as defined in the chart below is 0.214, which means that an investor should have a greater risk-adjusted return in comparison to an investment in real estate and in comparison to a Treasury bond which has a Sharpe ratio of zero. Only when an investor compares one investment’s Sharpe ratio with that of another investment can the investor get a feel for the return versus the relative amount of risk they can expect to take to achieve that return.

While real assets tend to retain value during economic downturns and contribute to value creation during economic upturns, performance generally lacks drastic movements in either direction. This potential performance stability may provide investors with portfolio benefits in a variety of market environments.

Implementing The Real Assets Portion Of A Portfolio

A number of considerations should be taken into account whenbuilding a portfolio of real assets. One approach for the initial structure isto define the investor’s objectives in terms of yield versus growth-orientedstrategy and sensitivity to the impact of inflation.

For the Yield Investor, a real assets strategy may emphasizeincome-oriented but inflation-sensitive investments that generate potentialsteady cash flows.

For the Growth Investor, a real assets strategy mayseek broader exposure to natural resources to help pursue a growth objective.

For the Growth Investor, a real assets strategy mayseek broader exposure to natural resources to help pursue a growth objective.

Building a real asset portfolio is a process that requires multiple considerations in terms of planning, implementation and monitoring. Real assets can play a fundamental role in a portfolio, depending on an investor’s objectives. Given the current low-yield environment, along with the potential diversification that real assets have historically provided, we believe that investors should consider them in order to create a well-diversified portfolio.

*Risk-adjusted return refines an investment’s return by measuring how much risk is involved in producing that return.

This is an excerpt from FlexShares’ research paper on Expectations for Real Assets. Get the full paper here.

The potential benefits of real assets in a portfolio

The potential benefits of real assets in a portfolio

ETF Securities Portfolio Insights – The potential benefits of real assets in a portfolio

Highlights

  • Up 1.4% since the end of 2015, the surge in US inflation benefitted most to commodities, up 16.3% on average, followed by natural resources stocks with 6.2%.
  • Following its rally in 2017, the upside potential of equities is questioned for 2018. Our simulated real asset portfolio allows for higher diversification and lower downside risk.
  • Based on historic simulations, an allocation of 20% in the real asset portfolio from a portfolio of 60% equities and 40% bonds increased the Sharpe ratio to 0.58 from 0.54 for the 60/40 benchmark.

In November 2016, we published an article showing how a portfolio of real assets would benefit from a rising inflation environment and improve the Sharpe ratio of a traditional portfolio of equities and bonds. In this note, we are looking back at how the simulated portfolio has performed and provide an analysis of the inflation situation for the year ahead.

Inflation over the past two years

Headline inflations for the US, UK and EU jumped by 1.8% on average since the end of 2015, with the UK reaching the highest level at 3% in December 2017. Core inflations, on the other hand, were mixed. In the UK, core inflation rose 1.1% since December 2015 while EU core inflation was flat and US core inflation fell. This highlights the substantial contribution of the food and energy component in the headline inflation rally, up 1.7% for the UK and the US and 1.2% for the EU.

So far, out of the major central banks, only the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has started tightening its monetary policy and increase interest rates. The European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BOE) remain on a wait and see mode as both economies remain subject to substantial uncertainties amidst Brexit. While markets have priced in the Fed’s three rate hikes for 2018, we believe they are still underestimating the potential of a policy mistake in a situation where US inflation overshoots and the economy overheats. With inflation in the US, UK and EU highly correlated to each other, we believe headline inflation will likely stabilise around their current levels for 2018.

Interestingly, half of the top 20 performers since the end of 2015 are equity stocks while the other half, with the exception of one, belongs to commodities and more specifically metals for the most part. Mining stocks have seen the best performance, up 133% non-annualised, followed by palladium (90%) and the basket of industrial metals (56%). Miners saw their earnings rise again after mid-2016. Capex growth also turned positive, potentially signalling the beginning of a new business cycle that could last for the next two to three years.

However, data since 1991 show that…

Among the real assets that perform best when US, EU and UK inflation rises, commodities represent nearly 40%, while infrastructure and real estate represent 30% and 17% respectively. Natural resources stocks and inflation-linked bonds making up for the remaining 13%.

Interestingly, the same analysis with EU inflation shows that inflation benefits mostly to infrastructure and real estate assets while rising UK inflation would push inflation-linked bonds to the top five.

The simulated real asset portfolio

The real asset portfolio we created in November 2016 has 10 constituents weighted equally: 3 baskets of commodities (broad, energy and agriculture), gold, platinum, global REITs and global real estate stocks, US energy MLPs, global infrastructure stocks and cash.

Since November 2016, the simulated real assets portfolio continues to lead inflation as illustrated below. Recent trend of the portfolio returns suggests that the inflation rally is likely over, remaining around its current level in the near term.

Equity as an asset class had an strong year in 2017, supported by positive economic data across the world and there are several indicators that the market has confidence that it will continue. The MSCI World index, used as a proxy for equities, rose by 33% since the end of 2015 compared to 7.7% for the bond index (the Barclays Capital Global Bond) and 17% for the simulated real assets portfolio. We, however, observe that overall, the real assets portfolio is less volatile than the MSCI World index and therefore has a better risk-adjusted return of 0.34 versus 0.30 for the equity index.

Starting from January 2018, we are replacing the basket of agriculture with the basket of industrial metals in order to reflect our bullish view on the sector for 2018. We had our call right for 2017 and we believe that metals with industrial applications will continue to benefit from rising economic activities across the world and more specifically from emerging markets.

Real assets contribution to a simulated portfolio of equities and bonds

As a reminder, by adding 20% of a portfolio of 60% equities and 40% bonds in the simulated real assets portfolio, the resulting simulated portfolio with real assets has 50% in equities, 30% in bonds, 10% in commodities, 4% in real estate, 4% in infrastructure and 2% in cash. Both portfolios rebalance once a year in January.

Following the recent equity rally, the simulated portfolio with real assets is underperforming the 60/40 benchmark by 0.2% per year since 2006. It is, however, less volatile, provides better protection from the downside risk and recovers faster to its previous peak. As a result, the simulated portfolio with 20% in real assets is better diversified than the benchmark, improving the Sharpe ratio from 0.54 with the 60/40 benchmark to 0.58

For more information contact:

Catarina Donat Marques
ETF Securities (UK) Limited
T +44 20 7448 4386
E catarina.donatmarques@etfsecurities.com

Important Information

This communication has been issued and approved for the purpose of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by ETF Securities (UK) Limited (“ETFS UK”) which is authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”).

The information contained in this communication is for your general information only and is neither an offer for sale nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. This communication should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. Historical performance is not an indication of future performance and any investments may go down in value.

This document is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, an advertisement or any other step in furtherance of a public offering of shares or securities in the United States or any province or territory thereof. Neither this document nor any copy hereof should be taken, transmitted or distributed (directly or indirectly) into the United States.

This communication may contain independent market commentary prepared by ETFS UK based on publicly available information

This communication may contain independent market commentary prepared by ETFS UK based on publicly available information. Although ETFS UK endeavours to ensure the accuracy of the content in this communication, ETFS UK does not warrant or guarantee its accuracy or correctness. Any third party data providers used to source the information in this communication make no warranties or representation of any kind relating to such data. Where ETFS UK has expressed its own opinions related to product or market activity, these views may change. Neither ETFS UK, nor any affiliate, nor any of their respective officers, directors, partners, or employees accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this publication or its contents.

ETFS UK is required by the FCA to clarify that it is not acting for you in any way in relation to the investment or investment activity to which this communication relates. In particular, ETFS UK will not provide any investment services to you and or advise you on the merits of, or make any recommendation to you in relation to, the terms of any transaction. No representative of ETFS UK is authorised to behave in any way which would lead you to believe otherwise. ETFS UK is not, therefore, responsible for providing you with the protections afforded to its clients and you should seek your own independent legal, investment and tax or other advice as you see fit.

Yielding towards the right bond model

Yielding towards the right bond model

Asset Allocation Research Yielding towards the right bond model

Highlights

  • With interest rates likely to rise in the US and inflation likely to increase both in the US and EU, it is time for investors to reduce their exposure to bonds.
  • However, bonds remain key in reducing investors’ portfolio risk. Our model based on fundamentals can help mitigate the upcoming downturn in the bond market.
  • Applying our model to a portfolio of bonds enhanced the Sharpe ratio to 1.61 compared to 1.51 for its benchmark by increasing return by 0.2% per year.

Download the complete report (.pdf)

As inflation increases on a global basis, central banks are likely to raise rates to keep inflation around their target. An increase in interest rates will, in turn, have a negative impact on the value of bonds. Record low interest rates in developed markets have favoured investments in riskier instruments as investors sought higher returns and income. An increase in interest rates is likely to be followed by a rotation to less risky assets as investors are by nature risk-averse, potentially moving towards more cash or sovereign bonds to the detriment of high yields.

In our tactical portfolio (and its latest update – Underweight US, Europe and precious metals), we use models to determine our positions in equities, bonds and commodities. While we have previously explained what goes into the equity and commodity models, this is our first note outlining in detail our bond model. We start with the indicators the model uses as trading signals, followed by the model mechanism and concluding with the portfolio of bonds and a performance analysis of the portfolio compared to its benchmark and the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index since 2007.

Inflation expectations

Inflation can be measured in many ways. Inflation expectations measured by the 5yr 5yr forward inflation rate reflects the markets’ expectations on how central bank policies will impact inflation in the future. Technically, it represents the level of inflation expected over 5 years 5 years from now.

US and EU inflation expectations are highly correlated. A surge in inflation expectations like the one the market is currently witnessing means that inflation will likely increase and central banks will likely increase interest rates, undermining bonds.

In our bond model, we include the inflation expectations for both regions combined with their respective interest rate spreads (see chart below for the US).

Interest rate spread

The base rate is the rate at which central banks lend money to domestic banks. The 10yr forward rate is the rate at which investors are able to borrow money in 10 years from now, providing an indication on how the base rate should move in the future. With inflation expectation rates surging, the 10yr forward rates are rising, widening the spread with the base rates. This provides further certainty on an imminent rate hike, at least in the US, which would be prohibitive for US bonds.

(Click to enlarge)

Historically, the base rate moves most of the time in line with its 10yr forward rate if it does not catch it up. With the 10yr forward surging to 2.2% in the US while the base rates are currently at 0.95%, we will likely see the US Federal Reserve, increase its base rate, tightening the spreads.

In our model, we are using the spread between the 10yr forward rate and the base rate for the US and the EU combined with their respective inflation expectations as trading signals.

Credit default swap

A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial instrument that allows for the seller to transfer the credit exposure of a fixed income product to one or more parties. An increase in the value of the CDS indicates rising demand for insurance against a risk of default from the entity behind the underlying bond. It serves as a measure of the level of risk in the fixed income market.

(Click to enlarge)

Our analysis shows that there is a strong correlation between the quarterly return of bonds and the quarterly change of its respective CDS as illustrated above. In our bond model, we are taking into account the CDS level of each component of the portfolio relative to their respective first and second standard deviations above and below average.

The model mechanism

The model will tell us to overweight a bond if
– inflation expectations are at a turning point (switching from increasing to decreasing), and
– interest rate spreads are at a turning point (switching from increasing to decreasing), and
– the CDS of the bond is below its first or second standard deviation.

The model will tell us to underweight a bond if the opposite conditions to the above are aligned.

(Click to enlarge)

The above chart shows the portfolio historical positions in EU Sovereign bonds based on the model. While far from being perfect, it still manages in most occasions to signal the right changes ahead of price movements.

Performance and positioning

We created two diversified portfolios of bonds: our portfolio and its benchmark. Both have the same constituents as illustrated in the next table and rebalance on the first business day of every month. The benchmark rebalances back to its initial weights while the portfolio rebalances to a set of new weights based on the signals previously described.

(Click to enlarge)

For December, the model recommends to go underweight most of the components of the portfolio compared to the benchmark, except for US investment grade where the model recommends a neutral position. This results in a higher allocation to cash.

(Click to enlarge)

Applying the model to the portfolio of bonds shows that the portfolio outperforms its benchmark by 0.2% per year for the same level of volatility, improving the Sharpe ratio by 6.3% from 1.51 for the benchmark to 1.61.

(Click to enlarge)

We also note that the portfolio and its benchmark outperform the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index (former Lehman Aggregate Bond Index) by at least 1.4%, reduce volatility and more than double the Sharpe ratio. This can be explained by a change in universe, weights and rebalancing methodology.

Important Information

General

This communication has been issued and approved for the purpose of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by ETF Securities (UK) Limited (“ETFS UK”) which is authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”).

The information contained in this communication is for your general information only and is neither an offer for sale nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. This communication should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. Historical performance is not an indication of future performance and any investments may go down in value.

This document is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, an advertisement or any other step in furtherance of a public offering of shares or securities in the United States or any province or territory thereof. Neither this document nor any copy hereof should be taken, transmitted or distributed (directly or indirectly) into the United States.

This communication may contain independent market commentary prepared by ETFS UK based on publicly available information. Although ETFS UK endeavours to ensure the accuracy of the content in this communication, ETFS UK does not warrant or guarantee its accuracy or correctness. Any third party data providers used to source the information in this communication make no warranties or representation of any kind relating to such data. Where ETFS UK has expressed its own opinions related to product or market activity, these views may change. Neither ETFS UK, nor any affiliate, nor any of their respective officers, directors, partners, or employees accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this publication or its contents.

ETFS UK is required by the FCA to clarify that it is not acting for you in any way in relation to the investment or investment activity to which this communication relates. In particular, ETFS UK will not provide any investment services to you and or advise you on the merits of, or make any recommendation to you in relation to, the terms of any transaction. No representative of ETFS UK is authorised to behave in any way which would lead you to believe otherwise. ETFS UK is not, therefore, responsible for providing you with the protections afforded to its clients and you should seek your own independent legal, investment and tax or other advice as you see fit.

Defensive and safe haven assets: the winning combination

Defensive and safe haven assets: the winning combination

Asset Allocation Research – Defensive and safe haven assets: the winning combination

  • Defensive stocks such as health care, infrastructure and consumer staples enhanced the portfolio risk/return ratio due to relatively low correlation to large caps.
  • Safe haven assets such as sovereign bonds and gold have much lower correlation to large cap stocks than defensive stocks, allowing safe haven assets to improve the Sharpe ratio further.
  • Defensive and safe haven assets can complement each other in a portfolio, maintaining volatility as low as the volatility of the safe haven asset whilst enhancing the return and boosting the portfolio Sharpe ratio to the highest of any portfolio analysed.

Download the complete report (.pdf)

For more information contact

ETF Securities Research team
ETF Securities (UK) Limited
T +44 (0) 207 448 4336
E info@etfsecurities.com

Important Information

General

Important Information

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Funds

Austria: Investors should base their investment decision only on the relevant prospectus of the Company, the Key Investor Information Document, any supplements or addenda thereto, the latest annual reports and semi-annual reports and the memorandum of incorporation and the articles of association, which can be obtained free of charge upon request at the Paying and Information Agent in Austria, Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG, Graben 21, A1010 Wien, Österreich and on www.etfsecurities.com.

France: Any subscription for shares of the Funds will be made on the basis of the terms of the prospectus, the simplified prospectus and any supplements or addenda thereto. The Company is a UCITS governed by Irish legislation and approved by the Financial Regulator as UCITS compliant with European regulations although may not have to comply with the same rules as those applicable to a similar product approved in France. Certain of the Funds have been registered for marketing in France by the Authority Financial Markets (Autorité des Marchés Financiers) and may be distributed to investors in France. Copies of all documents (i.e. the prospectus (including any supplements or addenda thereto, the Key Investor Information Document, the latest annual reports and the memorandum of incorporation and articles of association) are available in France, free of charge, at the French Centralizing Agent, Société Générale, Securities Services, at 1-5 rue du Débarcadère, 92700 Colombes – France. Germany: The offering of the Shares of the Fund has been notified to the German Financial Services Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in accordance with section 310 of the German Investment Code (KAGB). Copies of all documents (i.e. the Key Investor Information Document (in the German language), the prospectus, any supplements or addenda thereto, the latest annual reports and semi-annual reports and the memorandum of incorporation and the articles of association) can be obtained free of charge upon request at the Paying and Information Agent in Germany, HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG, Königsallee 21-23, 40212 Düsseldorf and on www.etfsecurities.com. The current offering and redemption prices as well as the net asset value and possible notifications of the investors can also be requested free of charge at the same address. In Germany the Shares will be settled as co-owner shares in a Global Bearer certificate issued by Clearstream Banking AG. This type of settlement only occurs in Germany because there is no direct link between the English and German clearing and settlement systems CREST and Clearstream. For this reason the ISIN used for trading of the Shares in Germany differs from the ISIN used in other countries.

Netherlands: Each Fund has been registered with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets following the UCITS passport-procedure pursuant to section 2:72 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act.

United Kingdom: Each Fund is a recognised scheme under section 264 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and so the prospectus may be distributed to investors in the United Kingdom. Copies of all documents (i.e. the Key Investor Information Document, the prospectus, any supplements or addenda thereto, the latest annual reports and semi-annual reports and the memorandum of incorporation and the articles of association) are available in the United Kingdom from www.etfsecurities.com.

None of the index providers of the Funds referred to herein nor their licensors make any warranty or representation whatsoever either as to the results obtained from use of the relevant indices and/or the figures at which such indices stand at any particular day or otherwise. None of the index providers shall be liable to any person for any errors or significant delays in the relevant indices nor shall be under any obligation to advise any person of any error or significant delay therein.

Tre sätt att utvärdera avkastning

Tre sätt att utvärdera avkastning

Vissa investerare ser bortom aktier och obligationer för att kunna göra lönsamma investeringar. Alternativa investeringar omfattar allt från råvaror till ännu mer obskyra investeringar, såsom konstföremål. Det kan vara svårt att utvärdera dessa investeringar. Det finns emellertid några nyckeltal och indikatorer för att hjälpa till att utvärdera avkastning.

Sharpekvot

Den så kallade Sharpekvoten, också kallad Sharpe ratio, mäter avkastningen på en riskjusterad basis. Sharpekvoten har blivit mycket vanligt i finansindustrin sedan den lanserades av William Sharpe 1966. En högre Sharpe-kvot innebär att tillgången har en större riskjusterade avkastning.

Sharpekvoten är den genomsnittliga avkastningen utöver den riskfria räntan per enhet volatilitet, eller den risk som tas. Formeln för beräkning tar den genomsnittliga avkastningen på investeringen minus den riskfria räntan. Avkastningen på statsskuldväxel används oftast som riskfri avkastning. Sharpe kvoten kan beräknas på olika tidsramar, till exempel på en vecka, månad eller år.

Sharpekvoten mäter avkastningen samtidigt som den tar standardavvikelsen i beaktande. Avkastning som har en högre standardavvikelse har naturligtvis större risk. Sharpekvot inte ett perfekt mått på risk när det gäller att utvärdera avkastning.

Indikatorn har svårt att ta hänsyn till onormala fördelningar av avkastning såsom kurtosis, feta svansar och skevhet. Det förutsätter att avkastningen är normalfördelad såsom en klockformad kurva, men många alternativa placeringar använder derivat och andra mer komplexa tillgångar med asymmetrisk utdelning. Detta kan leda till skeva fördelningar. Sharpekvoten är inte att mäta risken och genomförandet av sådana avkastningsfördelningar korrekt.

Sortino Ratio

Ett annat riskmått som tar hänsyn till risken för volatilitet är Sortino kvoten. Det är en modifiering av Sharpekvoten, men detta riskmptt mäter den nedre avvikelsen i motsats till Sharpekvoten. Sharpekvoten skiljer inte mellan ökad och minskad volatilitet.

För investeringar som skeva mot positiva resultat, kan detta leda till en lägre Sharpekvot, eftersom den behandlar all volatilitet densamma. I själva verket borde investerare se positivt på skeva investeringar. Ändå finns det en risk för att resultat som har positivt skev i det förflutna inte kan fortsätta att utföra på samma sätt i framtiden. Detta är samma för alla investeringar. Tidigare prestationer är inte nödvändigtvis ett tecken på framtida resultat.

Sortinokvoten beräknas som den förväntade avkastningen minus den riskfria avkastningen. Detta divideras sedan med standardavvikelsen av negativa tillgångsavkastning. Sortinokvoten är ett bättre mått för hög volatilitetsportföljer. Sharpekvoten är bättre för att mäta avkastningen på en låg volatilitetsportfölj.

Return on investment (ROI)

Return on investment (ROI), eller avkastningen på investeringen är ett annat sätt att mäter effektiviteten i en investering. ROI är användbart för att jämföra effektiviteten i ett antal olika investeringar. ROI mäter en investerings avkastning jämfört med kostnaden för investeringen. Formeln är ROI minus kostnaden för investeringen, sedan delas det med kostnaden för investeringen

Det finns vissa nackdelar med att använda den enkla ROI. Det underlåter att ta hänsyn till längden på investeringen, och det förutsätter att tidsramarna för alla investeringar är desamma. För att få en mer rättvisande bild, måste ROI anpassas för att ta hänsyn till längden på investeringen.

Även om ROI ofta används så mäter detta riskmått inte volatiliteten i avkastningen på investeringarna. Till skillnad från Sharpekvot så kan avkastningen på en investering (så länge den är positiv), ses som attraktiv. Trots denna begränsning är ROI fortfarande ett riskmått att överväga när det gäller att utvärdera avkastning.