# How American Electric Power (AEP) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/aep
> Data as of October 22, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on AEP alone. It places AEP (American Electric Power Company, Inc.) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where AEP stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: AEP's full trading record, from October 1986 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 22, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, AEP rose 0.7% against 8.0% for the S&P 500 and 7.8% for the Nasdaq 100. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 6 months, D (Dominion Energy) rose 9.5% and DTE (DTE Energy) fell 5.7%.
- **Stock or market?:** AEP fell 1.1% over the past 3 months, 4.9 points ahead of the electric utilities ETF XLU (State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF), which fell 6.0%. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Last month cut against the tape: AEP rose 8.6% while the S&P 500 fell 1.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** AEP lagged its electric utility peers in 2023, then moved up the pack in 2025.
- **Long term:** AEP turned $10,000 into $29,200 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. On the flip side, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: AEP rose 82.7% against 80.3% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** AEP has tended to fall less than the S&P 500 in crashes, about 84% of the index's decline. In the 2022 bear market, AEP held up better than DUK (Duke Energy), D and XEL; only OGE (OGE Energy) and IDA fell less.
- **Diversification:** Over 10 years, AEP's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.40: 44% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 23% of its losses in falling ones. Against the S&P 500, AEP has a correlation of 0.38 over 5 years, less closely than 52% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** ATO (Atmos Energy, gas utilities) earned more than AEP with less volatility over the past 5 years: 15.9% a year at 18.5% volatility, against 12.8% a year at 20.2%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 44 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than AEP with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them KO (Coca-Cola), RY (Royal Bank of Canada) and GLD (SPDR Gold Shares).

## How much would $10,000 in AEP have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in AEP over the past 29 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of AEP over the same span and AEP's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in AEP at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $92,393 by September 2026, less than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- All eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of AEP, and ETN finished highest, at $538,468.

## AEP at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the stock, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- AEP's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 62.8%, from May 2001 to October 2002. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, AEP's best was 2000, when it returned 54.8%, and its worst was 2002, when it lost 32.8%. It lost money in eight of those years.
- AEP is 5.1% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Utilities (Regulated Electric)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $71B
- Volatility (5 years): 20.2%; Sharpe ratio: 0.70
- Worst decline ever: −62.8%, from May 24, 2001 to October 9, 2002; back at its high by October 10, 2006

| Period | AEP total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +8.6% |
| 3 months | −1.1% |
| 6 months | +0.7% |
| year to date | +15.4% |
| 1 year | +14.9% |
| 3 years | +98.5% |
| 5 years | +82.7% |
| 10 years | +192% |

## AEP against the whole market

Where AEP ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does AEP rank among all stocks?

This section ranks AEP on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every stock worth at least $300 million with enough history.

- AEP's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 2% of the 2,184 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | AEP | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +14.9% | 1,446 of 3,282 (top 45%) |
| 3-year return | +98.5% | 942 of 3,016 (top 32%) |
| 5-year return | +82.7% | 808 of 2,897 (top 28%) |
| 10-year return | +192% | 894 of 2,201 (top 41%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 20.2% | 95 of 2,897 (top 4%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.70 | 454 of 2,897 (top 16%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −32.9% | 43 of 2,184 (top 2%) |

### What has beaten AEP on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- Seven stocks and 37 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than AEP over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,641 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half AEP's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 16.9% a year at 11.1% volatility, 45% less than AEP's 20.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.70 for AEP. DXJ earned the most, 26.6% a year, while still swinging less than AEP (19.1% against 20.2%).
- None of AEP's popular alternatives made it, but ATO (gas utilities) did: 15.9% a year at 18.5% volatility, 9% less than AEP's 20.2%.

### Is there a better investment than AEP?

The table below lists investments that beat AEP over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes.

- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ATO (gas utilities) earned more than AEP with less volatility over the past 5 years: 15.9% a year at 18.5% volatility, against 12.8% a year at 20.2%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 44 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than AEP with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them KO, RY and GLD.

The 15 strongest of 44 investments that beat AEP over the past 5 years, out of 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with AEP | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AEP: American Electric Power Company, Inc. (this page) |  | +12.8% | 20.2% | 0.70 | −32.9% | +192% |  |  |
| [RY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.5% | 18.2% | 0.98 | −40.0% | +361% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPLX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +24.0% | 18.8% | 1.25 | −75.2% | +337% | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | Japan Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +415% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [KO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Nonalcoholic Beverages | +15.2% | 16.8% | 0.93 | −37.0% | +205% | 0.61 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [RSG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rsg): Republic Services, Inc. | Waste Management | +14.1% | 18.6% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +461% | 0.43 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [DYNF](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dynf): iShares U.S. Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF | US Multifactor Equity | +14.4% | 17.5% | 0.86 | −34.7% | — | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.1% | 19.0% | 0.93 | −26.4% | +206% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | Global Equity | +15.6% | 17.2% | 0.94 | −31.4% | +357% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | High Dividend Yield | +14.6% | 14.5% | 1.02 | −41.4% | +207% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.2% | 18.4% | 0.91 | −39.5% | +286% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Large-Cap Value | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.53 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| AVLV: Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +13.9% | 16.9% | 0.86 | −19.5% | — | 0.48 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DIVB: iShares Core Dividend ETF | High Dividend Yield | +14.6% | 15.5% | 0.96 | −36.9% | — | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DGT: State Street SPDR Global Dow ETF | Global Equity | +13.9% | 15.1% | 0.95 | −34.4% | +260% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| NXTG: First Trust Indxx NextG ETF | Technology Equity | +16.1% | 19.1% | 0.88 | −33.6% | +323% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## AEP against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against AEP, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do AEP's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Only PNW was both more rewarding and calmer than AEP over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, AEP returned 12.8% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (20.2% against 17.2%).

### Has AEP consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares AEP with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- None of the 25 popular alternatives outperformed AEP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was PWR.
- ED earned more for the risk it took than AEP (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.
- VST outperformed AEP over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so AEP has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of AEP | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AEP: American Electric Power Company, Inc. (this page) | +14.9% | +98.5% | +82.7% | +192% |  |  | 0.70 |
| [PWR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pwr): Quanta Services, Inc. | +34.1% | +235% | +371% | +1,878% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.02 |
| [ETR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/etr): Entergy Corporation | +15.5% | +162% | +146% | +326% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.92 |
| [VST](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vst): Vistra Corp. | −23.8% | +353% | +703% | +1,130% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.10 |
| [ETN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/etn): Eaton Corporation plc | +3.5% | +96.0% | +146% | +636% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| PNW: Pinnacle West Capital Corporation | +19.6% | +65.3% | +98.0% | +110% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.79 |
| AEE: Ameren Corporation | +6.3% | +59.0% | +48.0% | +199% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| [CEG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ceg): Constellation Energy Corporation | −26.7% | +132% | — | — | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| [ED](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ed): Consolidated Edison, Inc. | +17.8% | +48.7% | +81.6% | +123% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.73 |
| OGE: OGE Energy Corp. | +9.3% | +66.5% | +76.5% | +143% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.70 |
| [SO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/so): The Southern Company | −0.6% | +59.0% | +78.9% | +178% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [XEL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xel): Xcel Energy Inc. | +0.8% | +50.4% | +41.3% | +164% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.44 |
| EVRG: Evergy, Inc. | +11.7% | +98.7% | +60.4% | +113% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.60 |
| [GEV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gev): GE Vernova Inc. | +43.9% | — | — | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| WEC: WEC Energy Group, Inc. | −1.2% | +55.1% | +45.1% | +168% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| [DUK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/duk): Duke Energy Corporation | +0.6% | +62.6% | +46.5% | +140% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| CMS: CMS Energy Corporation | −3.5% | +46.9% | +34.4% | +129% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| ES: Eversource Energy | −2.9% | +48.6% | −3.8% | +78.3% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.09 |
| [D](https://betterthanspy.com/research/d): Dominion Energy, Inc. | +12.0% | +90.5% | +5.9% | +37.9% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.17 |
| [EXC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/exc): Exelon Corporation | −3.4% | +30.8% | +46.4% | +171% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| LNT: Alliant Energy Corporation | +5.7% | +60.3% | +44.2% | +158% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| IDA: IDACORP, Inc. | +7.2% | +66.3% | +56.9% | +149% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| DTE: DTE Energy Company | −3.5% | +53.7% | +35.4% | +134% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| FE: FirstEnergy Corp. | +2.3% | +50.6% | +51.0% | +111% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| PPL: PPL Corporation | −3.4% | +64.7% | +44.1% | +62.8% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.48 |
| POR: Portland General Electric Company | +3.4% | +30.9% | +14.0% | +56.9% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |

### How did AEP do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1997, along with where AEP ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- AEP finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 12 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, PWR came out ahead of AEP most often, in 17 of the 27 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, AEP finished in the top quarter in four of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 4 of 26.

| Year | AEP | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +29.4% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +18.2% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −11.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +10.4% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +10.7% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −9.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +30.5% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +5.4% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +19.9% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +11.9% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How AEP has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were AEP's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- Not every decline was the market's doing: AEP fell 46.0% from October 1998 to March 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 47.1%.
- The slowest recovery came after AEP fell 62.8% from May 2001 to October 2002; it did not regain that peak until October 2006, four years later.
- In three of AEP's five worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −62.8% | May 24, 2001 | October 9, 2002 | October 10, 2006 | −38.5% | dot-com bust |
| −48.5% | April 24, 2007 | March 9, 2009 | December 22, 2011 | −52.2% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −46.0% | October 8, 1998 | March 10, 2000 | November 30, 2000 | +47.1% | dot-com bust |
| −32.9% | February 18, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | March 28, 2022 | −33.4% | Covid crash |
| −29.6% | September 12, 2022 | October 5, 2023 | July 30, 2024 | +5.3% | 2022 bear market |

### How did AEP do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far AEP, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- AEP fell less than the S&P 500 in nine of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the late-2018 sell-off, when AEP fell 8.5% and the S&P 500 fell 19.3%.
- Among its popular alternatives, ED held up best, falling less than AEP in eight of the ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | AEP fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −62.8% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −48.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.8% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −9.3% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −10.6% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −5.5% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −8.5% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −32.4% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −22.3% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does AEP move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Over the past 10 years, AEP captured 44% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 23% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.40. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- Only ETR, PWR and SO had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than AEP's 1.93, out of 22 popular alternatives with the same record.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AEP: American Electric Power Company, Inc. (this page) | 44.0% | 23.0% | 0.40 |
| [PWR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pwr): Quanta Services, Inc. | 141% | 61.0% | 1.22 |
| [ETR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/etr): Entergy Corporation | 58.0% | 24.0% | 0.53 |
| [ETN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/etn): Eaton Corporation plc | 114% | 80.0% | 1.16 |
| PNW: Pinnacle West Capital Corporation | 34.0% | 27.0% | 0.38 |
| AEE: Ameren Corporation | 51.0% | 33.0% | 0.38 |
| [ED](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ed): Consolidated Edison, Inc. | 31.0% | 18.0% | 0.22 |
| OGE: OGE Energy Corp. | 53.0% | 52.0% | 0.60 |
| [SO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/so): The Southern Company | 41.0% | 20.0% | 0.39 |
| [XEL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xel): Xcel Energy Inc. | 41.0% | 24.0% | 0.35 |
| EVRG: Evergy, Inc. | 42.0% | 38.0% | 0.47 |
| WEC: WEC Energy Group, Inc. | 41.0% | 23.0% | 0.34 |
| [DUK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/duk): Duke Energy Corporation | 35.0% | 19.0% | 0.33 |
| CMS: CMS Energy Corporation | 35.0% | 23.0% | 0.28 |
| ES: Eversource Energy | 49.0% | 61.0% | 0.52 |
| [D](https://betterthanspy.com/research/d): Dominion Energy, Inc. | 43.0% | 70.0% | 0.52 |
| [EXC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/exc): Exelon Corporation | 40.0% | 21.0% | 0.37 |
| LNT: Alliant Energy Corporation | 50.0% | 45.0% | 0.46 |
| IDA: IDACORP, Inc. | 47.0% | 40.0% | 0.50 |
| DTE: DTE Energy Company | 47.0% | 42.0% | 0.50 |
| FE: FirstEnergy Corp. | 40.0% | 33.0% | 0.36 |
| PPL: PPL Corporation | 52.0% | 77.0% | 0.65 |
| POR: Portland General Electric Company | 40.0% | 51.0% | 0.45 |

### What diversifies AEP?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in AEP into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 16% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+11.8% for AEP alone, +15.1% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, SMH and XLE have moved largely independently of AEP over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.35 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, CLS and MCK have moved largely independently of AEP over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.40 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with AEP | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in AEP's 8 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.26 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 8 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.22 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 2 of 8 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.35 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 1 of 8 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.28 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 3 of 8 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.38 | +112% | 18.4% | 0.91 | 1 of 8 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.32 | +130% | 20.9% | 0.91 | 2 of 8 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.38 | +114% | 18.9% | 0.90 | 1 of 8 |
| EUFN: iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF | 0.43 | +130% | 21.8% | 0.88 | 1 of 8 |

## Common questions

### What was AEP's worst drawdown?

AEP's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 62.8%, from May 2001 to October 2002. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were AEP's best and worst years?

Over 29 full calendar years, AEP's best year was 2000, when it returned 54.8%. Its worst was 2002, with a return of -32.8%.

### Is there a better investment than AEP?

Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ATO (gas utilities) earned more than AEP with less volatility over the past 5 years: 15.9% a year at 18.5% volatility, against 12.8% a year at 20.2%. Few investments have done better on both counts: only 44 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than AEP with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them KO, RY and GLD.

### Is AEP more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. AEP's volatility over the past 5 years was 20.2%, 1.2 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, AEP's return lands within 20.2% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is AEP's Sharpe ratio?

AEP's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.70, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so AEP earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is AEP with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, AEP's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.38 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They are only loosely linked, which makes it a real diversifier next to an index fund. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against AEP instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a AEP holding.

### What are the best alternatives to AEP?

None of the 25 popular alternatives we compared outperformed AEP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about AEP's strength than about its alternatives.

### Did AEP outperform the S&P 500?

AEP finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 12 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +29.4%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did AEP do in stock market crashes?

AEP fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in nine of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in one. The clearest case was the late-2018 sell-off, when AEP fell 8.5% and the S&P 500 fell 19.3%.

### What diversifies AEP?

These had a low correlation with AEP over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.26), SMH (correlation 0.22) and XLE (correlation 0.35); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.40), CLS (correlation 0.15) and MCK (correlation 0.34). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://betterthanspy.com/research/aep
- All research pages: https://betterthanspy.com/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against AEP live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=AEP