There are various risk measurement ratios that help us to compare the performance of various mutual funds.
Alpha: The alpha of a mutual fund describes the fund’s performance in relation to a particular benchmark index it is pegged at. The baseline for alpha is 0. A mutual fund with a baseline above 0 means that the particular fund has outperformed the benchmark. While the same below 0 shows that the fund has underperformed compared to the benchmark index. A fund with 0 alpha means it is performing in line with the benchmark.
Beta: The beta shows how volatile a fund is compared to the benchmark index. The baseline for Beta is 1 and funds with higher volatility have a beta higher than 1. While the same less than 1 implies less volatility compared to the benchmark index.
Sharpe Ratio: The Sharpe ratio represents the risk-adjusted rate of return for a particular fund. In other words, the Sharpe ratio tells us the ideal return that the fund must generate in relation to the overall risk taken on investing in that fund. A fund with a higher Sharpe ratio is considered better than the one with a lower Sharpe ratio. A negative Sharpe ratio implies that investments that are risk-free have a higher return than the particular fund.
Price-to-earnings: The price-to-earnings ratio of a mutual fund is the weighted average price-to-earnings ratio of all the stocks that form part of a fund’s portfolio. Price-to-earnings represents the amount of money that investors are willing to invest in compared to the earnings of a particular company or a mutual fund. This is used to evaluate if a fund is highly overpriced or underpriced compared to other funds.
Price-to-book ratio: The price-to-book ratio of a mutual fund is the weighted average of the price-to-book ratios of all the stocks that form part of a fund’s portfolio. The price-to-book ratio compares the market price of a stock to the current book value of all assets held by the company. The P/B ratio of a mutual fund depends on the P/B ratio of the stocks that have a higher holding in the fund’s portfolio.
Modified Duration: Duration is for debt funds what beta and alpha are for equity funds. Duration represents the sensitivity of a debt mutual fund in relation to changes in interest rates. If a particular fund has a modified duration of 3 years it means a 1% rise in interest rates shall affect a 3% fall in the price of the debt fund and vice versa.
YTM: Yield to maturity of a debt fund gives the expected return of a fund if held till maturity. The YTM of an open-ended fund could be different from the actual return of the fund as there is a constant inflow and outflow of funds in an open-ended fund.
Info Ratio: The information ratio of a fund conveys the degree of excess returns that is generated by a fund for risks incurred by the investor relative to the benchmark index. It essentially shows the consistency of a particular fund manager over a period of time. If the info ratio is less than 0.4, it means that the fund manager has not been so consistent in giving excess returns relative to the benchmark index. An info ratio which is between 0.4 and 0.61 is considered good while an info ratio between 0.61 to 1 is believed to be excellent.
Standard Deviation:The standard deviation explains the volatility of the fund through which we can assess the risk of the fund. The higher the standard deviation, the higher is the risk of the fund and vice versa.