While Treynor ratio uses Beta which is a portfolio return volatility relative to market’s (systematic risk), Sharpe ratio uses the actual portfolio return volatility (total risk). The Treynor Ratio is a metric that determines how much excess return a portfolio has generated for every unit of risk it has taken. In this sense, excess returns refer to returns that exceed those earned by risk-free investments. The difference between the two metrics is that the Treynor ratio utilizes beta, or market risk, to measure volatility instead of using total risk (standard deviation) like the Sharpe ratio. The Treynor ratio is mainly used to measure the amount of return you are getting by taking on an extra unit of systematic risk.

Risk-Free Rate

What this means is that you don’t use it for a portfolio of securities from different asset classes as there would be no benchmark to compute the beta. Using the equity market benchmark to compute the beta for such a portfolio could lead to a beta value of zero or a negative beta value, both of which would render the Treynor Ratio meaningless. A negative Treynor ratio indicates that the investment has performed worse than a risk-free instrument.

Synergy with Modern Portfolio Theory

By doing so, they can identify which portfolio delivers the highest return for a given level of systematic risk. A higher ratio signifies that the investment or portfolio is generating more return per unit of systematic risk (as measured by beta). Ultimately, the Treynor ratio attempts to measure how successful an investment is in providing compensation to investors for taking on investment risk.

Incorporating Alternative Risk Measures

The Treynor ratio relates excess return over the risk-free rate to the additional risk taken; however, systematic risk is used instead of total risk. The higher the Treynor ratio, the better the performance of the portfolio under analysis. You can use the Treynor Ratio to compare the return of your stock portfolio or a stock-based mutual fund to that of the equity market benchmark. For example, let’s say that your stock portfolio returned 21% in the past year and had a beta of 2.4, while the S&P 500 Index Fund returned 10% during the same period. Therefore, the portfolio of mutual funds generated a risk-adjusted return of 0.180 per unit of systematic risk.

Treynor Ratio, how to calculate it : What is it and what is good?

Next, the Risk-Free Rate is the theoretical return an investor would get from a risk-free investment over a specified timeframe. This is typically represented by the yield of a ‘risk-free’ security like a U.S. So when we divide by Beta in our Treynor Ratio calculation, we are normalizing our profit (Portfolio Return – Risk-Free Rate) by the level of systematic risk involved in getting that return. Any difference in these ratios comes from a difference in the portfolio’s level of diversification. Changes in these inputs can have a significant impact on the calculated ratio, which may lead to different conclusions about a portfolio’s risk-adjusted performance.

Again, we find that the best portfolio is not necessarily the portfolio with the highest return. Instead, a superior portfolio has the superior risk-adjusted return or, in this case, the fund headed by manager X. The use of such ratio, however, goes beyond just signifying the risk-adjusted reward. In an ideal scenario, companies that foster a strong culture of responsibility towards different stakeholders including society, environment, and employees, are expected to have lower risk profiles.

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Both ratios are interpreted in a similar manner; a higher value indicates superior risk-adjusted performance. Regardless of which is used, investors must remember that these ratios are comparative metrics. Their value lies in benchmarking performance against similar investments https://broker-review.org/ or an appropriate index, rather than in absolute numbers. On the other hand, the Sharpe ratio takes a broader perspective on risk by using standard deviation as the risk measure. Standard deviation quantifies total risk, which includes both systematic and unspecific risk.

The Modified Treynor Ratio adjusts the traditional Treynor Ratio formula to account for the fact that some portfolios may have higher unsystematic risk than others. This enhancement can provide a more accurate assessment of the risk-adjusted return for non-diversified portfolios. First developed in 1966 and revised in 1994, the Sharpe ratio aims to reveal how well an asset performs compared to a risk-free investment. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return. The Sharpe ratio measures the return of your portfolio against the total risk, whereas the Treynor ratio uses systematic risk. From the comparison Treynor ratio vs. Sharpe ratio, the former is generally considered more accurate as investors are normally only compensated by taking on more systematic risk.

Risk in the Treynor ratio refers to systematic risk as measured by a portfolio’s beta. Beta measures the tendency of a portfolio’s return to change in response to changes in return for the overall market. The Sharpe Ratio (SR) measures a fund’s risk-adjusted return based on its total risk, represented by the portfolio’s standard deviation. In contrast, utilizing its beta, the Treynor Ratio evaluates portfolio performance relative to market risk. Like the Sharpe ratio, the Treynor ratio (T) does not quantify the value added, if any, of active portfolio management. A ranking of portfolios based on the Treynor Ratio is only useful if the portfolios under consideration are sub-portfolios of a broader, fully diversified portfolio.

However, when considering the risks that each manager took to attain their respective returns, Manager B demonstrated a better outcome. Simply put, a positive Treynor ratio means that the potential reward outweighs the risk taken, while a negative ratio implies excessive risk for the return being offered. Investors generally favor mutual funds with a higher Treynor ratio as they have a better risk-adjusted performance. However, it may not work as effectively when analyzing the performance of individual stocks or non-diversified portfolios. Portfolios with only a few assets or individual stocks may have specific risks that the Treynor Ratio doesn’t account for.

Rather than measuring a portfolio’s return only against the rate of return for a risk-free investment, the Treynor ratio looks to examine how well a portfolio outperforms the equity market as a whole. It does this by substituting beta for standard deviation in the Sharpe ratio equation, with beta defined as the rate of return due to overall market performance. Designed by economist Jack Treynor, who also created the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), the ratio is used by investors to make informed decisions regarding asset allocation and portfolio diversification. Often referred to as the “reward-to-volatility ratio”, the Treynor ratio attempts to gauge the risk attributable to a portfolio (and the expected returns) in the context of the total non-diversifiable risk inherent to the market. From the formula below, you can see that the ratio is concerned with both the return of the portfolio and its systematic risk.

From the table above, Fund C has the least volatile returns as indicated by the lowest beta value. In fact, it is less volatile than the market benchmark is normally given a beta value of 1. But it turned out to offer the best return per unit risk taken as shown by the Treynor Ratio.

From a purely mathematical perspective, the formula represents the amount of excess return from the risk-free rate per unit of systematic risk. So, This is one of the critical performance metrics that analysts and investors widely use for calculating returns generated by investment portfolios. If the portfolio manager (or portfolio) is evaluated on performance alone, manager C seems to have yielded the best results (a 15% return).

If this is not the case, portfolios with identical systematic risk, but different total risk, will be rated the same. But the portfolio with a higher total risk is less diversified and therefore has a higher unsystematic risk which is not priced in the market. The Treynor Ratio is a measure used to assess the risk-adjusted performance of an investment or a portfolio. It is named after Jack Treynor, an economist who developed the ratio in the 1960s.

1. This might manifest itself in a higher Treynor Ratio compared to companies that have little to no focus on sustainability or CSR issues.
2. So, This is one of the critical performance metrics that analysts and investors widely use for calculating returns generated by investment portfolios.
3. A higher ratio result is more desirable and means that a given portfolio is likely a more suitable investment.
4. But the portfolio with a higher total risk is less diversified and therefore has a higher unsystematic risk which is not priced in the market.
5. That’s why the Treynor ratio is often considered to be theoretically more accurate.

An aggressive investor would ideally look for funds with a high ratio, showing the funds’ potential to provide a high return for every unit of systematic risk. But, they could also accept portfolios with lower ratios, assured of their willingness and ability to absorb higher risk. Such investors, however, should have a thorough understanding of the risks and potential https://forex-reviews.org/bitit/ losses involved. The Traynor Index indicates how much return an investment, such as a portfolio of stocks, a mutual fund, or exchange-traded fund, earned for the amount of risk the investment assumed. The index is a performance metric that essentially expresses how many units of reward an investor is given for each unit of volatility they experience.

Conservative investors would avoid funds with a low ratio as they do not provide enough return to justify the level of risk involved. Beta (β) is a financial metric measuring the volatility of the asset or portfolio return compared to its benchmark. Investments are likely to perform and behave differently in the future than they did in the past. The accuracy of the Treynor ratio is highly dependent on the use of appropriate benchmarks to measure beta. For example, if the Treynor ratio is used to measure the risk-adjusted return of a domestic large-cap mutual fund, it would be inappropriate to measure the fund’s beta relative to the Russell 2000 Small Stock index.

The Treynor Ratio is calculated by dividing the portfolio’s excess return over the risk-free rate by the portfolio’s beta, which measures its sensitivity to market movements. The Sortino Ratio is another risk-adjusted performance measurement that emphasizes downside risk, or the risk of negative returns. This metric is particularly useful for investors who are more concerned about the potential for losses than the overall volatility of their investments.

A financial professional will offer guidance based on the information provided and offer a no-obligation call to better understand your situation. At Finance Strategists, we partner with financial experts to ensure the accuracy of our financial content. J.B. Maverick is an active trader, commodity futures broker, and stock market analyst 17+ years of experience, in addition to 10+ years of experience as a finance writer and book editor. Next, let’s look at some examples to understand how to calculate the Treynor ratio. Suppose an investment firm’s portfolio has averaged a return of 8.0% over the trailing five years. As mentioned earlier, the risk-free rate represents the return received on default-free securities, i.e. government bonds.

For instance, it would not be appropriate to use the Dow 30 Index to measure the beta of a mutual fund whose portfolio consists of small-cap companies. Based on the Treynor ratios, one can conclude that Portfolio A outperforms Portfolio B regarding risk-adjusted returns. Therefore, portfolio A stands as the superior investment option between the two. Instead, the beta should be measured against an index more representative of the large-cap universe, such as the Russell 1000 index. Conversely, a low Treynor ratio could indicate mismanagement or a higher-than-normal risk strategy that fails to generate satisfactory returns. By using the Treynor ratio, one can also gain a deeper understanding of a fund manager’s investment strategies and his or her ability to generate income.

A portfolio with a higher beta has a bigger return potential, but it also has a bigger risk. So, beta is a measure of systemic risk, which is the risk in a portfolio that cannot be offset by diversification within the same market. The term “Treynor ratio” refers to the financial thinkmarkets broker review metric that helps assess how much excess return has been generated for each unit of portfolio-level risk. Jack Treynor, an American economist and one of the developers of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), is credited with naming the Treynor ratio after himself.

Traditionally, investment evaluations measure average returns without considering risk levels. However, the Treynor ratio provides a more nuanced analysis by factoring in systemic risk. The Treynor ratio, in the context of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT), offers a measure to gauge the risk-adjusted return of an investment, its portfolio, or a fund. Here, higher Treynor ratios signify superior risk-adjusted performance relative to its peers.

Most investments, though, don’t necessarily perform the same way in the future that they did in the past. From the perspective of an investor, the insights derived from comparing the risk-adjusted fund returns contributes toward the selection of which funds to allocate their capital to. From the results above, we see that the Treynor Ratio of the Equity Portfolio is slightly higher. Keep in mind that Treynor Ratio values are based on past performance that may not be repeated in future performance. The Treynor Ratio measures portfolio performance and is part of the Capital Asset Pricing Model. Manager E did best because although Manager F had the same annual return, it was expected that Manager E would yield a lower return because the portfolio’s beta was significantly lower than that of portfolio F.

Suppose you are comparing two portfolios, an Equity Portfolio and a Fixed Income Portfolio. You’ve done extensive research on both portfolios and can’t decide which one is a better investment. You decide to use the Treynor Ratio to help you select the best portfolio investment.