Best Source for Accurate Annual Historical ETF/Fund Returns?

[DawgMan]

So I want to do some simple side by side annual comparisons of individual ET/Fund performance and it seems like every source I look at has different calculations for "Total Return". Example: I was looking up YTD Total Return for PGX... Bloomberg says 1.01%, Schwab says 1.22%, and Yahoo says -1.9%. I like how Yahoo provides a year by year historical return, which is what I am ideally looking for, but can I trust the numbers? Is there a reliable source out there to extract this info? You would think it would be a simple math equation which would produce consistent numbers, but apparently not.

 

[braumeister]

the 1.01% is day end; the 1.22% is month end.

 

[DawgMan]

the 1.01% is day end; the 1.22% is month end.

Good catch, however, if I dig further into Yahoo's numbers it appears they are saying the return was -3.34% YTD (end of month). It still begs the question what site out there is reliable?

 

[braumeister]

I always use Morningstar.

 

[DawgMan]

I always use Morningstar.

Thanks. I looked on Morningstar, but did not see where they provide a historical annual (by year) total return which is ideally what I was looking for. To my earlier point, comparing Yahoo, https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/PGX/performance?p=PGX , to a site called ETFrepaly, https://www.etfreplay.com/etf/pgx.aspx , you can see they both provide what I am looking for, but different values?? Shouldn't this be consistent as it is based on a basic mathematical equation?? While these 2 sites are close, some years are off by as much as 1% in total return. Is there a way to get Morningstar to show by year?

 

[braumeister]

I guess I don't understand. The M* page looks to me like it gives that.

https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/pgx/performance

 

[target2019]

The only way to know for sure is to download historical price and dividend data. Then determine if Yahoo reinvests dividends, and make a calculation of YTD performance.

I hold PGX, but never had much interest in YTD for one holding. I see why accuracy is important for your needs.

 

[DawgMan]

I guess I don't understand. The M* page looks to me like it gives that.

https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/pgx/performance

View attachment 35896

I stand corrected, not sure how I missed that. And I also now see where the values are off. It appears one site is calculating total return on price and the other NAV. Confusing, none the less.

Thanks.

 

[DawgMan]

The only way to know for sure is to download historical price and dividend data. Then determine if Yahoo reinvests dividends, and make a calculation of YTD performance.

I hold PGX, but never had much interest in YTD for one holding. I see why accuracy is important for your needs.

I have held an allocation of PGX in my fixed allocation during accumulation and still plan keeping some once I start withdrawals. I am transitioning to withdrawal mode now and plan on implementing a "bucket overlay" on my AA so as I assign certain ETFs/funds to my buckets based on certain risk profiles, I wanted to do an historical year by year performance comparison of my fixed holdings next to my equity allocations to see their respective returns/volatility to help further define how I want to stack my fixed bucket (up to 10 yrs of spending). Just 1 more check & balance to get the warm fuzzes on my holdings.

 

[target2019]

I have held an allocation of PGX in my fixed allocation during accumulation and still plan keeping some once I start withdrawals. I am transitioning to withdrawal mode now and plan on implementing a "bucket overlay" on my AA so as I assign certain ETFs/funds to my buckets based on certain risk profiles, I wanted to do an historical year by year performance comparison of my fixed holdings next to my equity allocations to see their respective returns/volatility to help further define how I want to stack my fixed bucket (up to 10 yrs of spending). Just 1 more check & balance to get the warm fuzzes on my holdings.

Yahoo historical has dividend data to help you with that income estimate month by month.

I could kick myself for not watching more closely in March. I could have added PGX at a significant discount.

 

[pb4uski]

So I want to do some simple side by side annual comparisons of individual ET/Fund performance and it seems like every source I look at has different calculations for "Total Return". Example: I was looking up YTD Total Return for PGX... Bloomberg says 1.01%, Schwab says 1.22%, and Yahoo says -1.9%. I like how Yahoo provides a year by year historical return, which is what I am ideally looking for, but can I trust the numbers? Is there a reliable source out there to extract this info? You would think it would be a simple math equation which would produce consistent numbers, but apparently not.

I like Portfolio Visualizer.

https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio#analysisResults

 

[DawgMan]

I like Portfolio Visualizer.

https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio#analysisResults

Looks like a great tool, thanks!