The portfolio with the highest Sharpe ratio is on the efficient frontier, according CAPM. The Excel spreadsheet at the related link allows you to calculate a Sharpe optimal portfolio
The related link provides an excel template and some notes on how to calculate the sharpe ratio..pretty simple and effective.
When doing your own investment research one tool that can be very helpful is the Sharpe Ratio. The Sharpe Ratio is named for William Forsyth Sharpe, who developed it in 1966. If the name sounds familiar to you, it could be because Sharpe won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1990 for his work on the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). So what is the Sharpe Ratio and how can it help you? Basically, the Sharpe Ratio is a measure of the risk-adjusted return of an asset or a portfolio of assets. It is useful when comparing investment strategies or managers. It takes into account the amount of risk exposure each has in relation to their returns. This can be very beneficial because though one manager may have very similar historical results as another, manager A may be taking a lot more risk in order to achieve the same results as manager B. So how do you go about calculating the Sharpe Ratio? We’re going to do some math now; it may look scary but don’t freak out – it’s doable. You can calculate the Sharpe Ratio by dividing the difference between the average return for the portfolio and the risk-free rate of return by the standard deviation of returns for the portfolio. Here’s the formula: S(x) = (Rx – Rf) / StdDev(x) Where x = portfolio, Rx = average returns of portfolio, Rf = risk-free rate of return, and StdDev(x) = the standard deviation of returns for x. The yield on the 3 month US Treasury Bill is often used as the risk-free rate. So what the Sharpe ratio tells you is something about the efficiency of the portfolio by showing the amount of return generated per unit of risk assumed. The higher the Sharpe Ratio the better relationship of reward to risk the portfolio is deemed to have. A negative Sharpe ratio means that you’d see better returns on the risk-free asset. So if you want to be a more intelligent investor add this tool to your quiver and stay sharp, or Sharpe. (Sorry, I had to do it.)
Vanguard Wellesley Fund (VWINX) has a 3 year Sharpe ratio of over 2 and a Sortino ratio over 6. That's the best I've come across.
The Sharpe Ratio for a portfolio of several investments is maximized when the investment weights are adjusted such that the expected return divided by the combined portfolio variance is maximized. See the related link for an Excel spreadsheet you explore this concept it.
The Sharpe Ratio is a financial benchmark used to judge how effectively an investment uses risk to get return. It's equal to (investment return - risk free return)/(standard deviation of investment returns). Standard deviation is used as a proxy for risk (but this inherently assumes that returns are normally distributed, which is not always the case). See the related link for an Excel spreadsheet that helps you calculate the Sharpe Ratio, and other limitations.
Have you heard of the Sharpe Ratio? The Sharpe Ratio is a measure of the risk-adjusted return of an asset or a portfolio of assets.The Sharpe Ratio can be used to compare investment strategies or managers, taking into account the amount of risk exposure each has in relation to their returns.William Forsyth Sharpe created the ratio in 1966. He would later develop the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) for which he would win the Nobel Prize in Economics.The Sharpe Ratio is calculated by dividing the difference between the average return for the portfolio and the risk-free rate of return by the standard deviation of returns for the portfolio.The formula looks like:S(x) = (Rx – Rf) / StdDev(x)Where x = portfolio, Rx = average returns of portfolio, Rf = risk-free rate of return, and StdDev(x) = the standard deviation of returns for x.So how do you go about using this tool? First, it’s important to remember that, just like any other number derived from a formula you use to evaluate investments, The Sharpe Ratio can act as a guide, but should not be used in a vacuum. There are always many things to consider when investing.The Sharpe ratio can give you some idea of the efficiency of a portfolio by showing the amount of return generated per unit of risk assumed.The higher the Sharpe Ratio the better relationship of reward to risk the portfolio is deemed to have.Because the Sharpe Ratio takes volatility of a portfolio into account in its analysis its use is helpful when comparing different investment strategies or managers.All other things being equal (i.e. rate of return, constant risk-free rate) the strategy or manager exhibiting the highest return with the lowest amount of risk (as measured by standard deviation) would be the better choice.
I've written before about the Sharpe Ratio, a measure of risk-adjusted returns for an asset or portfolio. The Sharpe ratio functions by dividing the difference between the returns of that asset or portfolio and the risk-free rate of return by the standard deviation of the returns from their mean. So it gives you an idea of the level of risk assumed to earn each marginal unit of return. The problem with using the Sharpe Ratio is that it assumes that all deviations from the mean are risky, and therefore bad. But often those deviations are upward movements. Why should an investment strategy by graded so sharply by the Sharpe Ratio for good performance? In the real world, investors don't usually mind upside deviations from the mean. Why would they? These were the questions on the mind of Frank Sortino when he developed what has been dubbed the Sortino Ratio. The ratio that bears his name is a modification of the Sharpe Ratio that only takes into account negative deviations and counts them as risk. To me, it always made a lot more sense not to include upside volatility from the equation because I rather like to see some upside volatility in my portfolios. With the Sortino Ratio only downside volatility is used as the denominator in the equation. So the way you calculate it is to divide the difference between the expected rate of return and the risk-free rate by the standard deviation of negative asset returns. (It can be a bit tricky the first time you try to do it. The positive deviations are set to values of zero during the standard deviation calculation in order to calculate downside deviation.) By using the Sortino Ratio instead of the Sharpe Ratio you’re not penalizing the investment manager or strategy for any upside volatility in the portfolio. And doesn’t that make a whole lot more sense?
Sharpe's Rifles 1993 Sharpe's Eagle 1993 Sharpe's Company 1994 Sharpe's Enemy 1994 Sharpe's Honour 1994 Sharpe's Gold 1995 Sharpe's Battle 1995 Sharpe's Sword 1995 Sharpe's Regiment 1996 Sharpe's Siege 1996 Sharpe's Mission 1996 Sharpe's Revenge 1997 Sharpe's Justice 1997 Sharpe's Waterloo 1997 Sharpe's Challenge 2006 Sharpe's Peril 2008
Harry Markowitz established the foundation of modern portfolio theory in 1952. The CAPM was developed twelve years later in articles by William Sharpe, John Lintner, and Jan Mossin.
Harry Markowitz established the foundation of modern portfolio theory in 1952. The CAPM was developed twelve years later in articles by William Sharpe, John Lintner, and Jan Mossin.
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