Where the data comes from
| Source | Used for | Convention |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer fact sheets and prospectuses | Holdings, weights, expense ratios, index tracked, distribution policy | Primary source, linked directly in the article rather than summarised second-hand. |
| Yahoo Finance price history | Daily total-return series used for every return, drawdown and volatility figure | Adjusted close, so distributions are treated as reinvested on the ex-date. |
| FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) | Interest rates, inflation, spreads and other macro series | Series identifiers are named in the article where a specific series is used. |
| Index provider methodology documents | How an index selects, weights and reconstitutes | Consulted when a fund's behaviour is a property of its index rather than its manager. |
| Kenneth R. French Data Library | Factor return series for market, size, value, profitability, investment and momentum | Used for factor attribution; the regression window is stated where one is run. |
How the figures are computed
| Item | Convention |
|---|---|
| Returns | Total return unless a chart is explicitly labelled price-only. Distributions are assumed reinvested at the closing price with no tax or friction deducted — a simplification that flatters distribution-heavy funds relative to a taxable account. |
| Comparison charts | All series are indexed to 100 at the start of the window so funds with different share prices can be read on one axis. A second y-axis is never used. |
| Drawdown | Decline from the running peak of the total-return series, not from a fixed start. The maximum drawdown quoted is the deepest point inside the stated window only. |
| Window | Five years ending at the article's publication date, unless the article states otherwise. Changing the window changes drawdown and Sharpe figures materially, which is why the window is always named. |
| Annualising | Daily volatility is scaled by √252. This assumes independent returns and therefore understates the severity of clustered, fat-tailed moves. |
| Currency | US dollars, unweighted for an investor's home currency unless the article is specifically about currency exposure. |
Definitions
Each measure used across the site has a single definition page carrying its formula, how to read a value, and what it cannot tell you. There are currently 24 of them. Browse the measures →
What these figures cannot support
- Every figure is as of the publication date stamped on the article. Markets move; nothing here is re-computed on a schedule, and an old article is a record of what was true then.
- Comparisons are drawn from funds that exist today. Funds that closed or merged are absent, which flatters the surviving set — the standard survivorship problem, present here as everywhere.
- This site describes what has happened. It does not forecast returns, and where an article discusses expected values it is describing a model's output, not a prediction.
- Nothing here accounts for an individual's tax position, time horizon, or existing holdings, and none of it is personalised advice.
Corrections
Errors are corrected in place and the article's revision date is updated. If a correction changes a conclusion rather than a detail, the change is stated in the article itself rather than made silently. Reports of data errors, broken sources or disputed figures are welcome via the contact page.
Independence
This site carries no affiliate links, no sponsored placements and no paid fund coverage. Where display advertising runs, it is served by an ad network with no influence on which funds are analysed or what the analysis concludes. No issuer reviews an article before publication.