Measure
Skewness
Asymmetry of a return distribution around its mean.
Definition
Asymmetry of a return distribution around its mean.
How to read it
Negative skew means occasional large losses among many small gains; positive skew is the reverse profile.
Measured on real funds
16Skewness of monthly returns. Negative means the large moves are mostly downward, which is the shape most equity funds actually have and the one a symmetric risk model assumes away.
| Fund | Skewness | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| VTV | -0.69 | 272 months |
| VT | -0.69 | 219 months |
| VIG | -0.56 | 244 months |
| VTI | -0.54 | 303 months |
| VEA | -0.51 | 230 months |
| VXUS | -0.45 | 188 months |
| VWO | -0.44 | 258 months |
| QQQ | -0.38 | 330 months |
| VOO | -0.34 | 192 months |
| VUG | -0.34 | 272 months |
| SMH | -0.28 | 315 months |
| XLK | -0.23 | 333 months |
| SCHD | -0.19 | 179 months |
| VGT | -0.16 | 272 months |
| BND | 0.02 | 233 months |
| AGG | 0.21 | 276 months |
Computed from Yahoo Finance monthly total return, recomputed with every update of the site. How these figures are produced.
What it does not tell you
It is a single moment estimated from few extreme observations, so it is unstable. Two distributions with the same skewness can have very different tail risk.
Applied in 7 articles
7- Why Median Wealth Trails Average Wealth: Skewness, Compounding, and Realistic Expectations
- Momentum Crashes: The Rare, Violent Drawdowns Hiding Inside MTUM
- Volatility Targeting: How Scaling Exposure to a Risk Budget Changes Long-Term Outcomes
- Momentum Crashes, Explained: Why the Most Crowded Trades Unwind Fastest
- The Hidden Chip Bet in Your Index Fund: How Much Semiconductor Exposure QQQ, VOO, and VTI Really Carry
- QQQM vs. QRFT: Nasdaq 100 vs. AI-Driven Quality Factor Investing
- PSCU vs XLU and VPU: What Five Years of Data Say About Small-Cap Utility Exposure
Every figure computed with this measure on this site follows the conventions set out in the methodology. All measures →