Key facts: how returns, risk and benchmarks are calculated

Returns

• Window. From the first close on or after the same day 1, 3 or 5 years ago, to the latest close. If the first close falls more than 10 days after that date, the history is too short and the period is left out.
• Annualised. 3- and 5-year returns are given as a yearly compound rate: +50% over 5 years becomes about +8.4% a year.
• Price return. Returns are price changes only. A distributing fund's distributions aren't added back, so its return understates what an investor received. An accumulating fund reinvests them, so its price return is close to its total return.

The benchmark

Each return is compared with a benchmark over exactly the same dates:

Both are broad, cheap and widely held, which makes them the natural "could I have just bought the index?" comparison. Comparing in the asset's own currency keeps exchange-rate moves out of the gap. A gap of less than half a percentage point a year counts as "in line". Assets quoted in other currencies, and crypto products, aren't compared.

The 52-week high and largest drop

The highest close of the past year, how far the latest close is below it, and the deepest fall from a peak to a later low within that year.

Volatility

The annualised standard deviation of the last 30 daily price changes (log returns). As a guide, a broad world equity index usually runs around 15%.

The risk rating, when shown, is the 1-to-7 risk indicator published for the fund, not our calculation.

Sectors and concentration

• Sectors. The three largest sectors by weight. A stock is a single sector.
• Concentration (funds with more than 10 holdings). The combined weight of the 10 largest holdings, and the largest country when there is more than one.

Glitch filtering

Price feeds occasionally carry a wrong close, such as a price off by a factor of 100 for one day. Before computing, any close more than three times above or below the median of the five closes on either side is ignored.

Frequently asked questions