# How Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/brk-a
> 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 BRK-A alone. It places BRK-A (Berkshire Hathaway 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 BRK-A stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: BRK-A'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:** BRK-A has outpaced the market, rising 12.1% over the past 3 months against 2.5% for the S&P 500. Both BRK-A and the S&P 500 are within a few percent of a record high.
- **Stock or market?:** More than an industry move: BRK-A rose 12.1% over the past 3 months, against 3.0% for the insurance ETF KIE (State Street SPDR S&P Insurance ETF). The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. BRK-A rose 8.7% last month as the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 5.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** BRK-A led its insurance peers in 2023, then fell behind CB (Chubb) and TRV (Travelers Companies) in 2025. Over the past year, BRK-A rose 11.5% against 15.6% for the S&P 500 and 16.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (60.2% against 88.4%).
- **Long term:** BRK-A turned $10,000 into $38,100 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. That said, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: BRK-A rose 88.5% against 80.3% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, BRK-A has typically lost about 85% as much as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, BRK-A has a correlation of 0.50 over 5 years, more closely than 73% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, BRK-A's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.75: 78% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 70% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** MFC (Manulife Financial, life insurance) and CSX (freight rail theme) were ahead of BRK-A in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (24.0% and 23.5% volatility against 17.2%).
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only six of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BRK-A with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them PVAL (Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF), FDL (First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund) and LVHI (Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF).

## How much would $10,000 in BRK-A have grown?

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

- $10,000 invested in BRK-A at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $166,749 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of BRK-A, and PGR finished highest, at $454,424.

## BRK-A 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.

- BRK-A's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 51.5%, from December 2007 to March 2009. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- BRK-A is trading within 1% of its all-time high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, BRK-A's best was 1998, when it returned 52.2%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 31.8%. It lost money in five of those years.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Insurance - Diversified)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $1.2T
- Volatility (5 years): 17.2%; Sharpe ratio: 0.83
- Worst decline ever: −51.5%, from December 10, 2007 to March 5, 2009; back at its high by February 14, 2013

| Period | BRK-A total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +8.7% |
| 3 months | +12.1% |
| 6 months | +16.8% |
| year to date | +10.4% |
| 1 year | +11.5% |
| 3 years | +60.2% |
| 5 years | +88.5% |
| 10 years | +281% |

## BRK-A against the whole market

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

### How does BRK-A rank among all stocks?

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

- BRK-A's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 1% of the 2,184 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | BRK-A | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +11.5% | 1,575 of 3,282 (top 48%) |
| 3-year return | +60.2% | 1,434 of 3,016 (top 48%) |
| 5-year return | +88.5% | 771 of 2,897 (top 27%) |
| 10-year return | +281% | 628 of 2,201 (top 29%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 17.2% | 37 of 2,897 (top 2%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.83 | 244 of 2,897 (top 9%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −30.4% | 24 of 2,184 (top 2%) |

### What has beaten BRK-A 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).

- Six ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than BRK-A over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,641 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half BRK-A's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 16.9% a year at 11.1% volatility, 36% less than BRK-A's 17.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.83 for BRK-A.

### Is there a better investment than BRK-A?

The table below lists investments that beat BRK-A 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.

- Among BRK-A's popular alternatives, TRV, ALL and RNR were ahead of BRK-A in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (22.3%, 26.2% and 27.9% volatility against 17.2%).
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MFC (life insurance) and CSX (freight rail theme) were ahead of BRK-A in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (24.0% and 23.5% volatility against 17.2%).
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only six of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BRK-A with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them PVAL, FDL and LVHI.

The 6 strongest of 6 investments that beat BRK-A 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 BRK-A | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRK-A: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (this page) |  | +13.5% | 17.2% | 0.83 | −30.4% | +281% |  |  |
| DIVB: iShares Core Dividend ETF | High Dividend Yield | +14.6% | 15.5% | 0.96 | −36.9% | — | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Dividend Equity | +16.9% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +15.9% | 15.1% | 1.06 | −41.3% | — | 0.62 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | High Dividend Yield | +14.6% | 14.5% | 1.02 | −41.4% | +207% | 0.63 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | Energy Infrastructure | +15.2% | 14.5% | 1.06 | −43.6% | +155% | 0.65 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| IUS: Invesco RAFI Strategic US ETF | US Total Market | +14.7% | 14.9% | 1.00 | −34.7% | — | 0.61 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## BRK-A against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against BRK-A, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do BRK-A'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.

- None of the 21 popular alternatives earned more than BRK-A over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Over the past 5 years, BRK-A returned 13.5% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (17.2% against 17.2%).

### Has BRK-A consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Four of the 22 popular alternatives, led by ALL, TRV and AFG, outperformed BRK-A in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- ALL and TRV outperformed BRK-A in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- PGR earned more for the risk it took than BRK-A (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of BRK-A | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRK-A: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (this page) | +11.5% | +60.2% | +88.5% | +281% |  |  | 0.83 |
| [ALL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/all): The Allstate Corporation | +35.6% | +126% | +128% | +377% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.76 |
| [TRV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | +53.3% | +168% | +175% | +360% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.02 |
| AFG: American Financial Group, Inc. | +22.1% | +73.0% | +60.5% | +332% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.53 |
| RNR: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. | +50.3% | +72.1% | +155% | +222% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.81 |
| [PGR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | +9.8% | +63.6% | +168% | +849% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| [JPM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | +16.6% | +154% | +122% | +534% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| WRB: W. R. Berkley Corporation | +3.5% | +94.6% | +134% | +466% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.86 |
| HIG: The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. | +13.7% | +112% | +108% | +302% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| [NSC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nsc): Norfolk Southern Corporation | +19.2% | +83.0% | +31.1% | +345% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| [SPY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +15.6% | +88.4% | +80.3% | +316% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| [CB](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cb): Chubb Limited | +33.2% | +83.3% | +108% | +256% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.82 |
| ACGL: Arch Capital Group Ltd. | +16.9% | +31.9% | +150% | +316% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.87 |
| L: Loews Corporation | +13.9% | +83.9% | +101% | +190% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.83 |
| AXS: AXIS Capital Holdings Limited | +15.4% | +98.4% | +127% | +149% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| [UNP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/unp): Union Pacific Corporation | +35.1% | +53.3% | +40.4% | +313% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| CINF: Cincinnati Financial Corporation | +17.2% | +95.2% | +65.2% | +218% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| [NEE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nee): NextEra Energy, Inc. | +1.7% | +73.8% | +11.0% | +240% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| RLI: RLI Corp. | +18.4% | +18.9% | +55.3% | +238% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| EG: Everest Group, Ltd. | +19.8% | +11.9% | +61.7% | +162% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.51 |
| CNA: CNA Financial Corporation | +17.9% | +60.4% | +58.6% | +191% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.54 |
| [AIG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aig): American International Group, Inc. | +7.8% | +50.5% | +55.2% | +77.3% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| MKL: Markel Corporation | +1.0% | +32.7% | +44.2% | +115% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.44 |

### How did BRK-A do year by year?

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

- BRK-A finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 14 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, UNP came out ahead of BRK-A most often, in 19 of the 29 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, BRK-A finished in the top quarter in five of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 14 of 22.

| Year | BRK-A | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +10.8% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +25.5% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +15.8% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +4.0% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +29.6% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +2.4% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +11.0% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +2.8% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +21.9% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +23.4% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How BRK-A 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 BRK-A'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: BRK-A fell 48.9% from June 1998 to March 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 29.6%.
- The slowest recovery came after BRK-A fell 51.5% from December 2007 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until February 2013, four years later.
- In two of BRK-A's three worst declines, it fell less than the S&P 500 did over the same dates.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −51.5% | December 10, 2007 | March 5, 2009 | February 14, 2013 | −53.4% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −48.9% | June 19, 1998 | March 10, 2000 | November 14, 2003 | +29.6% | dot-com bust |
| −37.5% | October 10, 1989 | October 11, 1990 | August 12, 1991 | — |  |
| −37.1% | October 2, 1987 | October 27, 1987 | July 1, 1988 | — |  |
| −30.4% | January 17, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | November 16, 2020 | −32.4% | Covid crash |

### How did BRK-A do in stock market crashes?

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

- Among its popular alternatives, NEE held up best, falling less than BRK-A in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- BRK-A fell less than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when BRK-A fell 21.5% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | BRK-A fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −21.5% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −51.5% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.8% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −13.6% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −13.1% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −8.4% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −15.8% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −30.2% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −26.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does BRK-A 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, BRK-A captured 78% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 70% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.75. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- 11 of the 20 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than BRK-A's 1.11, led by WRB, RNR and ALL.
- PGR took just -5% of the S&P 500's losses, against 70% for BRK-A, while still keeping 72% of its gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRK-A: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (this page) | 78.0% | 70.0% | 0.75 |
| [ALL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/all): The Allstate Corporation | 68.0% | 41.0% | 0.49 |
| [TRV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | 70.0% | 48.0% | 0.59 |
| AFG: American Financial Group, Inc. | 84.0% | 75.0% | 0.78 |
| RNR: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. | 46.0% | 20.0% | 0.31 |
| [PGR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | 72.0% | −5.0% | 0.36 |
| [JPM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 117% | 103% | 1.09 |
| WRB: W. R. Berkley Corporation | 68.0% | 26.0% | 0.55 |
| HIG: The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. | 83.0% | 77.0% | 0.78 |
| [NSC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nsc): Norfolk Southern Corporation | 123% | 147% | 1.30 |
| [CB](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cb): Chubb Limited | 63.0% | 48.0% | 0.54 |
| ACGL: Arch Capital Group Ltd. | 74.0% | 57.0% | 0.57 |
| L: Loews Corporation | 66.0% | 64.0% | 0.71 |
| AXS: AXIS Capital Holdings Limited | 55.0% | 53.0% | 0.67 |
| [UNP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/unp): Union Pacific Corporation | 104% | 119% | 1.05 |
| CINF: Cincinnati Financial Corporation | 66.0% | 63.0% | 0.60 |
| [NEE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nee): NextEra Energy, Inc. | 62.0% | 44.0% | 0.45 |
| RLI: RLI Corp. | 57.0% | 54.0% | 0.39 |
| EG: Everest Group, Ltd. | 46.0% | 32.0% | 0.46 |
| CNA: CNA Financial Corporation | 57.0% | 45.0% | 0.54 |
| [AIG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aig): American International Group, Inc. | 64.0% | 93.0% | 0.91 |
| MKL: Markel Corporation | 65.0% | 88.0% | 0.68 |

### What diversifies BRK-A?

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 BRK-A into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 16% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+12.7% for BRK-A alone, +14.3% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EWP and SMH have moved largely independently of BRK-A over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.49 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, CLS and MCK have moved largely independently of BRK-A over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.42 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with BRK-A | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in BRK-A's 5 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.33 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 5 |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 0.49 | +141% | 20.3% | 0.97 | 0 of 5 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.15 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 1 of 5 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.44 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 2 of 5 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.12 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 2 of 5 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.41 | +112% | 18.4% | 0.91 | 0 of 5 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.39 | +130% | 20.9% | 0.91 | 0 of 5 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.11 | +147% | 24.3% | 0.87 | 0 of 5 |

## Common questions

### What was BRK-A's worst drawdown?

BRK-A's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 51.5%, from December 2007 to March 2009. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were BRK-A's best and worst years?

Over 29 full calendar years, BRK-A's best year was 1998, when it returned 52.2%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -31.8%.

### Is there a better investment than BRK-A?

Among BRK-A's popular alternatives, TRV, ALL and RNR were ahead of BRK-A in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (22.3%, 26.2% and 27.9% volatility against 17.2%). Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MFC (life insurance) and CSX (freight rail theme) were ahead of BRK-A in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (24.0% and 23.5% volatility against 17.2%).

### Is BRK-A more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. BRK-A's volatility over the past 5 years was 17.2%, 1.0 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, BRK-A's return lands within 17.2% 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 BRK-A's Sharpe ratio?

BRK-A's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.83, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so BRK-A earned more 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 BRK-A with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, BRK-A's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.50 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They often move together: some diversification next to an index fund, but not a cushion. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against BRK-A instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a BRK-A holding.

### What are the best alternatives to BRK-A?

Of the 22 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed BRK-A in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: ALL, TRV and AFG.

### Did BRK-A outperform the S&P 500?

BRK-A finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 14 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +10.9%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did BRK-A do in stock market crashes?

BRK-A fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in five of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in two. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when BRK-A fell 21.5% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies BRK-A?

These had a low correlation with BRK-A over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.33), EWP (correlation 0.49) and SMH (correlation 0.15); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.40), CLS (correlation 0.03) and MCK (correlation 0.42). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Allstate (ALL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/all)
- [Travelers Companies (TRV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/trv)
- [Progressive (PGR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pgr)
- [JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/jpm)
- [Norfolk Southern (NSC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nsc)
- [State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spy)
- [Chubb (CB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cb)
- [Union Pacific (UNP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/unp)
- [NextEra Energy (NEE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nee)
- [American International Group (AIG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aig)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/schd)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda)

## Explore further

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