She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance degree from Bridgewater State University and helps develop content strategies. Get market insights, education, and platform updates from the Volity team. The Treynor ratio was developed by American economist Jack L. Treynor, a key figure in the development of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). You need two key inputs to calculate the Treynor Ratio. Get the latest insights & exclusive offers delivered straight to your inbox.

Missions & Values

As a financial analyst, it is important to not rely on a single ratio for your investment decisions. Other financial metrics should be considered before making a final decision. Please note that content is a marketing communication. Before making investment decisions, you should seek out independent financial advisors to help you understand the risks. You use it when you care more about losses Can you mine xrp than swings.

A portfolio can show a strong Treynor score but still move wildly in the short term. You may not like that if you prefer stable returns. Treynor Ratio helps you judge performance in that case.

  • Before making investment decisions, you should seek out independent financial advisors to help you understand the risks.
  • You use it when you care more about losses than swings.
  • When two portfolios have similar market sensitivity but varying returns, the Treynor ratio helps determine which one is delivering better risk-adjusted performance relative to the market.
  • In general, a positive Treynor ratio indicates that a portfolio is earning more than the risk-free rate per unit of market risk, which is considered favorable.

Limitations of The Treynor Ratio

We do not manage client funds or hold custody of assets, we help users connect with relevant financial advisors. From asset management to property valuation, we offer a range of programs to fit your career goals. Understanding how to calculate and interpret the Treynor Ratio, along with its advantages and limitations, can help you make more informed decisions.

Treynor Ratio in Mutual Fund Analysis

This allows for an apples-to-apples comparison of how well each portfolio performs relative to its exposure to market movements. When two portfolios have similar market sensitivity but varying returns, the Treynor ratio helps determine which one is delivering better risk-adjusted performance relative to the market. The Treynor ratio is a risk-adjusted metric that evaluates portfolio performance in relation to systematic risk, also called market risk. Named after American economist Jack Treynor, this ratio is calculated by dividing the excess return of a portfolio over the risk-free rate by its beta. In essence, the Treynor ratio is a risk-adjusted measurement of return based on systematic risk.

Tools for Calculation

That means the ratio focuses only on market-wide risk. You want to compare portfolios with similar beta values. That gives you a fair way to see which one performs better for the same level of market risk.

They might argue that risk is the likelihood of a permanent, not temporary, loss of capital. Further, it can be effectively used for analyzing multiple portfolios only if given that they are a subset of a larger portfolio. In cases where the portfolios have varying total risk and similar systematic risks, they will be ranked the same, making this ratio useless in the performance analysis of such portfolios. Although the Treynor ratio is considered a better method to analyze and find out the better-performing investment in a group of investments, it does not work in several cases.

Thus, both ratios work similarly in some ways while being different in others, making them suitable for different cases. Treynor ratio calculation is done by considering the beta of an investment to be its risk. The β value of any investment is the measure of the investment’s volatility in the current stock market position. The more the volatility of the stocks included in the portfolio, the more the β value of that investment will be. Treynor ratio is a metric widely used in finance for calculations based on returns earned by a firm. It is also known as a reward-to-volatility ratio or the Treynor measure.

Key Takeaways

Professional and eligible counterparty clients could sustain losses in excess of deposits. You use the Treynor Ratio to see how well your portfolio performs against market risk. A higher ratio means a better risk-adjusted return. A lower ratio means a poor reward for the risk you take. You want your portfolio to earn more for every unit of beta. However, you must compare similar portfolios to get real value from the ratio.

  • The Treynor ratio uses systematic risk (beta) in its denominator, while the Sharpe ratio uses total risk (standard deviation), making Treynor better for diversified portfolios.
  • You should consider using the Treynor Ratio primarily when evaluating portfolios that are exposed to market fluctuations and where diversification has minimized unsystematic risk.
  • The Treynor ratio shares similarities with the Sharpe ratio, and both measure the risk and return of a portfolio.
  • Systematic risk, measured by beta, is the market-wide risk that cannot be eliminated through diversification.

This article will break down the Treynor Ratio, showing you how to compute it, apply it in real-world scenarios, and understand what the results mean for your investments. A higher Treynor ratio should result in greater expected risk-adjusted returns — all else being equal. For example, if a stock has been giving the firm a 12% rate of return for the past several years, it is not guaranteed that it will go on doing the same thing in the years to follow. The rate of return can go either way, which is not considered by the Treynor ratio. To carry out the Treynor Ratio calculations, we also need the risk-free rate of the three investments.

How to Combine Treynor Ratio with Other Metrics

The Sharpe ratio metric is useful for all portfolios, unlike the Treynor ratio, which can only be applied to well-diversified portfolios. The Sharpe ratio reveals how well a portfolio performs compared to a riskless investment. The common benchmarks used to represent a riskless investment are the U.S. As we have seen, investors must find mutual funds to help them meet their investment objectives at the required risk level.

Treynor Ratio: Definition, Formula and Examples

The Treynor Ratio and the Sharpe Ratio are both measures used to evaluate the performance of an investment portfolio, but they differ in how they account for risk. This written/visual material is comprised of personal opinions and ideas and may not reflect those of the Company. The content should not be construed as containing any type of investment advice and/or a solicitation for any transactions. It does not imply an obligation to purchase investment services, nor does it guarantee or predict future performance. Our platform may not offer all the products or services mentioned. However, a higher Treynor Ratio generally indicates better risk-adjusted performance.

In contrast, the Sharpe Ratio considers total risk (standard deviation), including systematic and unsystematic risk. The Treynor Ratio is a financial metric that assesses the returns of an investment portfolio relative to its market risk. In particular, the Treynor ratio is used to perform comparative analysis among different funds to compare the historical track record of a specific portfolio manager (and investment fund). Another limitation of the Treynor ratio occurs because of the past consideration done by the metric. This ratio gives importance to how the portfolios behaved in the past.

Are you trying to improve your portfolio’s performance? So, use Treynor as a part of a smarter strategy. He was one of the minds behind the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). He focused on measuring return in a way that accounts for risk linked to the whole market.