26 June 2022 4:15

How do you find an index fund’s tracking error?

How do I find a tracking error?

Tracking Error is a measure of the volatility of excess returns relative to a benchmark. Given a sequence of returns for an investment or portfolio and its benchmark, Tracking Error is calculated as follows: Tracking Error = Standard Deviation of (P–B) P = the return of the investment.

What causes tracking error in index funds?

key takeaways. The difference between the returns of the index fund and its benchmark index is known as a fund’s tracking error. SEC diversification rules, fund fees, and securities lending can all cause tracking errors. Tracking errors tend to be small, but they can still adversely affect your returns.

What is a good tracking error for an index fund?

Theoretically, an index fund should have a tracking error of zero relative to its benchmark. Enhanced index funds typically have tracking errors in the 1%-2% range. Most traditional active managers have tracking errors around 4%-7%.

Does ETF have tracking error?

In the world of ETFs, tracking errors refer to the difference between the actual returns of the fund and the returns of the benchmark index it has its underlying stocks in.

Which is the most appropriate measure of evaluating how closely an index fund is tracking its benchmark?

In order to assess how successful his investment was, Sam decides to compare the returns of Fund A against the returns of a benchmark. In such a case, the most appropriate benchmark is the S&P 500 because it tracks the performance of the biggest large-cap companies.

What is tracking error of a portfolio?

Tracking error is formally defined as the standard deviation of the difference between the returns of the portfolio and the returns of the benchmark—or the dispersion of the excess portfolio returns compared with its benchmark. It’s typically expressed both as an annualized number and as a percentage.

Do ETFs always track an index?

It should be noted that index ETFs do not perfectly track the underlying index; there is usually some level of tracking error, which is the difference between the ETF market price and the net asset value of the fund.

How do you calculate tracking error from monthly return?

Tracking error is calculated by taking the square root of the average of the squared deviations between the investment’s returns and the benchmark’s returns, then multiplying the result by the square root of the scale of the returns.

How does ETF track an index?

When you buy shares/units of an ETF, you are buying shares/units of a portfolio that tracks the yield and return of its native index. The main difference between ETFs and other types of index funds is that ETFs don’t try to outperform their corresponding index, but simply replicate the performance of the Index.

Do actively managed ETFs have tracking errors?

Tracking error is the variance between a portfolio’s returns and an index’s returns. Index funds have low tracking error and actively managed funds have high tracking error.

Do smart beta ETFs have tracking errors?

Smart beta indices, like actively managed strategies, also exhibit tracking errors to the cap-weighted index.

Is tracking error the same as Alpha?

The perception is that tracking error (standard deviation of Alpha) is a measure of Alpha risk. It is assumed that more return can only be earned through more risk and that lower tracking error is a recipe for lower Alpha.

How do you calculate annualized tracking error in Excel?


Quote: And again we can calculate daily total returns by just dividing the total return index today by the total return index yesterday and subtracting one and we can drag it across all four return series.

Do you annualize tracking error?

In order to make the tracking error comparable it should be annualised. In order to do the right right of the equation should be multiplied by the number of periods in an year.

What is the annualized portfolio tracking error?

Tracking Error (Annualized)



The tracking error measures how much the daily returns of a fund differ from the daily returns of its benchmark. This is a particularly useful measurement for index funds that attempt to mimic their benchmark since the goal is to make the tracking error as small as possible.

How do you calculate tracking error in information ratio?

To calculate IR, subtract the total of the portfolio return for a given period from the total return of the tracked benchmark index. Divide the result by the tracking error. The tracking error can be calculated by taking the standard deviation of the difference between the portfolio returns and the index returns.

How is tracking difference calculated?

Tracking difference, which can be positive or negative, tells you the extent to which a fund has out- or underperformed its benchmark index. It is calculated as the fund’s net asset value (NAV) total return minus the benchmark’s total return.

What does it mean to track an index?

An index tracker attempts to match the performance of a particular ‘index’ of shares. In other words, it attempts to follow the ups and downs of the index as closely as possible. It does this by exposing itself to the performance of the shares in that index. But how exactly does it do this?

How often do index funds rebalance?

Indexes typically rebalance on a consistent schedule, but the timing can vary by provider. For example, S&P Dow Jones Indices typically rebalances indexes on the third Friday at the end of each calendar quarter, while rebalances in MSCI indexes occur on the last business day of February, May, August and November.