Methodology · last reviewed
How every figure is calculated
Each number on Fundology follows a written rule. If a figure does not match the rule on these pages, that is a mistake on our side: tell us and we will correct it, and say that we have.
Returns
- How the returns are measuredMost return figures on Fundology are the fund’s reported total return: the change in its value with income reinvested, after the fund’s own charges. Where that is not available we use the change in price, and we always say which one you are looking at.Read the method
- Real returnA real return is what an investment gained once rising prices are taken out. If a fund grew 50% while prices in the shops rose 25%, the extra spending power is 20%, not 50%.real = (1 + return) ÷ (1 + CPIH inflation over the same months) − 1Read the method
- Calendar-year and 12-month returnsEach year’s return compares the last weekly close of the year with the last weekly close of the year before. The five 12-month figures run to the latest quarter end, as on a UK factsheet.return = close at the end ÷ close at the start − 1 · real = (1 + return) ÷ (CPIH at the end ÷ CPIH at the start) − 1Read the method
- Rolling returns: the range of 1- and 3-year outcomesInstead of one start date, we look at every 12-month (and every 3-year) stretch in the record, a week apart. That shows the range of results someone holding the fund would have seen, not just the latest one.window return = close in week t ÷ close in week t − 52 − 1 · 3-year: (close t ÷ close t − 156)^(1/3) − 1 a yearRead the method
Charges
- Fee dragEvery fund takes a yearly charge from the money it holds, called the ongoing charges figure (OCF). Small percentages add up, so we show roughly what it comes to in pounds on £10,000 over five years.fee drag (£) = 10,000 × (1 − (1 − OCF)⁵)Read the method
- Charges and returns among similar fundsWe count, we do not judge: “158 of the 210 other global share funds charge more”, “40th of 108 by 3-year total return, highest first”. A lower charge or a higher past return is not a recommendation.Read the method
Risk
- Ups and downs: volatility, biggest fall, Sharpe and SortinoThese measures describe how much a fund’s price has jumped around in the past. They need a long price record, so we show them only for funds whose closes we have recorded over the whole period.volatility = st.dev(weekly returns) × √52 · Sharpe = mean ÷ st.dev × √52 · max drawdown = lowest (price ÷ previous peak − 1)Read the method
- Falls, recoveries and the Calmar ratioA fall is measured from a weekly high to the lowest weekly close that followed, and ends when the price is back at the old high. We list the three deepest, including any that has not recovered yet.fall = lowest close ÷ previous high − 1 · Calmar = annualised return ÷ |largest fall| over the same windowRead the method
- How a fund moves with a stand-in fund: correlation and betaWe compare a fund’s weekly returns with those of a large, well-known fund for its market — for example iShares Core MSCI World for global shares. Correlation says how closely they moved together; beta says how far the fund moved, on average, for each 1% move in the stand-in.correlation = cov(fund, stand-in) ÷ (sd fund × sd stand-in) · beta = cov(fund, stand-in) ÷ var(stand-in)Read the method
Holdings and categories
- Holdings overlapTwo funds with different names can own mostly the same companies. Overlap adds up, company by company, the smaller of the two funds’ weights.overlap = Σ min(weight in fund A, weight in fund B)Read the method
- How funds are groupedEvery fund we price is put into one category a beginner can recognise, from what it holds, where, and how it is built. The rules are fixed and written down; no fund can pay to be placed.Read the method
Also useful
Glossary
Plain-English definitions of every term the figures use.
UK inflation (CPIH)
The inflation series behind every return after inflation, month by month.