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Calculator

Risk-Adjusted Returns Calculator

Returns CSV → Sharpe, Sortino, Calmar, Omega, alpha, beta, tracking error, information ratio, max drawdown, tail moments.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, and no account or API key is needed.

Education, not investment advice. Past performance does not predict future results. How we check our numbers.

1. Upload a returns CSV

Columns: date,strategy,benchmark (benchmark optional). Returns are simple daily returns as decimals (0.012 = 1.2%); annualization uses 252 days. Computation is entirely client-side; nothing is uploaded.

Risk-free (annual)%

Sharpe ratio (annualized)

0.531

Marginal — verify with OOS, 4.8% return on 5.3% vol over ~2.0 yrs.

Excess of 2.00% annual risk-free, 504 observations.

Other ratios

Sortino (ann)

0.786

Downside-only vol

Calmar

1.013

CAGR ÷ max drawdown

Omega

1.09

gains / losses

Drawdown + distribution

Max drawdown

4.74%

Skewness

0.112

< 0: fat left tail

Excess kurtosis

-0.227

> 0: fat tails

Benchmark-relative

Beta

0.049

Alpha (CAPM, ann)

2.82%

Tracking error

6.32%

Information ratio

0.102

Formulas

sharpe_ann   = (mean(r) - rf_daily) / stdev(r) × √252
sortino_ann  = (mean(r) - rf_daily) / downside_stdev × √252
omega        = sum(positive excess) / sum(|negative excess|)
ann_return   = (Π(1 + r))^(252 / n) - 1   (gross CAGR, not excess of rf)
calmar       = ann_return / max_drawdown
maxDD        = max over t of (peak_t - nav_t) / peak_t

With benchmark:
  beta           = cov(r, b) / var(b)
  alpha_ann      = (1 + mean(r))^252 - 1 - rf_ann - β · ((1 + mean(b))^252 - 1 - rf_ann)
  tracking_err   = stdev(r - b) × √252
  info_ratio     = mean(r - b) × 252 / tracking_err

How to use it

  1. Upload a CSV with date, strategy and an optional benchmark column of simple daily returns as decimals. A two-year demo loads by default.
  2. Set the annual risk-free rate. Sharpe, Sortino and Omega use returns in excess of it.
  3. Read the annualized Sharpe ratio with the compound annual return and volatility.
  4. Check Sortino, Calmar (CAGR ÷ max drawdown), Omega, max drawdown, skewness and excess kurtosis.
  5. With a benchmark column, read beta, CAPM alpha, tracking error and the annualized information ratio.

Questions people ask

Which risk-adjusted metrics does the tool compute?

Annualized Sharpe and Sortino on returns in excess of your risk-free rate, Omega at the risk-free threshold, Calmar (compound annual return ÷ max drawdown), max drawdown, skewness and excess kurtosis; with a benchmark column also beta, CAPM alpha, tracking error and the annualized information ratio. Treynor is not reported, but it follows from the excess return and the beta shown.

When is Sortino better than Sharpe?

When the strategy has asymmetric returns. Sortino penalizes downside volatility only; Sharpe penalizes both up and down volatility equally. For long-only equity, Sharpe and Sortino track closely. For strategies with positive skew (trend-following, options buying), Sortino is more representative.

What benchmark should I use for Information Ratio?

Whatever benchmark you'd hold if you didn't have the strategy. For US equity strategies, SPY is typical. For multi-asset, a 60/40 stock/bond mix. For style-specific (small-cap value), a style-matched index (IWM, VTV). Information Ratio against a mismatched benchmark is meaningless.

How long a sample do I need?

Several years. For independent returns the standard error of an annualized Sharpe ratio is roughly 1 / √(years of data), so one year cannot tell a Sharpe of 1 from 0. Calmar needs at least one full drawdown and recovery. The tool reports whatever your sample gives and does not flag short samples, so read the ratios against the sample length shown.

Can risk-adjusted returns be misleading?

Yes. A strategy with rare large losses (option selling, short volatility) can show a high Sharpe in calm regimes and a disastrous one when the regime breaks. Read the skewness, excess kurtosis and max drawdown next to the ratios, and check tails with the Returns Distribution Analyzer or the VaR Backtest.

  • Calculators Returns Distribution Analyzer

    Paste a returns CSV. Histogram, normal QQ plot, skewness, excess kurtosis, Jarque-Bera test, tail-weight index. See why Sharpe alone misleads.

  • Calculators Backtest Overfitting Score

    Upload a backtest trade log and compute Probability of Backtest Overfitting (PBO), Deflated Sharpe Ratio, and the odds your edge survives live trading.

  • Calculators Portfolio Correlation Matrix

    Paste a multi-asset returns CSV. See the Pearson correlation heatmap, condition number, average absolute correlation, and eigenvalue concentration.

All articles
  • Workflow Size your bets

    Compute Kelly fraction, drawdown bounds, and correlated exposure across a book.

Use it from code

The same calculation as a JavaScript module you can import. It runs where you import it, with no request, key or rate limit.

import { compute } from "https://aifinhub.io/engines/risk-adjusted-returns.js";

Input and output contract and the guide for agents.