Skip to main content Skip to main content
Not investment advice. Educational reading. See Disclaimer.
L.7 · INTERMEDIATE · 2 MIN

Risk-Adjusted Returns: Measuring What Matters

Raw returns lie. A portfolio returning 25% sounds impressive until you learn it was achieved with 3x leverage and 45% volatility. Risk-adjusted metrics reveal the truth about investment skill.

Quiz · 5 questions ↓
§ 01
MetricFormulaWhat It Measures
Sharpe Ratio(Return − Risk-free) / VolatilityReturn per unit of total risk
Sortino Ratio(Return − Target) / Downside DeviationReturn per unit of downside risk only
Calmar RatioAnnual Return / Max DrawdownReturn per unit of worst-case pain
Information RatioActive Return / Tracking ErrorSkill of active management vs. benchmark
§ 02
Sharpe Ratio = (Rp − Rf) / σp
§ 03

A Sharpe ratio above 1.0 is good, above 1.5 is excellent, and above 2.0 sustained over years is world-class (and suspicious — it may indicate hidden risks or smoothed returns).

§ 04
Calculate the Sharpe ratio for your portfolio over the last year. Compare it to the S&P 500’s Sharpe. Are you being compensated for the risk you’re taking?
§ 05
Fund A: 20% return, 30% volatility (Sharpe 0.53). Fund B: 10% return, 8% volatility (Sharpe 0.75). Which is the better risk-adjusted performer?
§ 06

The Sortino ratio is often more useful than Sharpe because investors don’t mind upside volatility. A stock that’s volatile because it occasionally surges 20% is not ‘riskier’ in any meaningful sense — only downside volatility is truly risk.

§ 07
Fund A: 12% return, 20% volatility. Fund B: 10% return, 10% volatility. Which is the better risk-adjusted performance?
Five questions · AI feedback

Sit with the ideas.

Fund A: Sharpe 1.4, Sortino 1.4, Calmar 0.9. Fund B: Sharpe 1.4, Sortino 2.1, Calmar 1.6. Both have the same total return. Which fund would a retiree drawing income from the portfolio prefer, and why?

Why:
See it on a real ticker →