# How JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/jpm
> 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 JPM alone. It places JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co.) 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 JPM stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: JPM'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 3 months, JPM fell 2.9% while the S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 3 months, COF (Capital One Financial) rose 1.4% and BAC (Bank of America) fell 16.7%.
- **Stock or market?:** JPM fell 2.9% over the past 3 months, in line with the banks ETF KBE (State Street SPDR S&P Bank ETF), which fell 4.5%. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Its bank peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: COF (Capital One Financial) rose 1.4%, while BAC (Bank of America) fell 16.7%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** JPM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in both 2024 and 2025.
- **Long term:** JPM turned $10,000 into $63,400 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. JPM's 10-year return of 534% puts it ahead of 88% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 316%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, JPM has typically fallen 1.5 times as far as the S&P 500. The 2022 bear market took 37.9% off JPM, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than HSBC (31.8%) but less than C (Citigroup, 39.2%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, JPM has a correlation of 0.66 over 5 years, more closely than 97% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. When the S&P 500 had a down month, JPM usually fell with it (18 of 22 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** PBAM (Private Bancorp of America, regional banks) and CM (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, banks) earned more than JPM with less volatility over the past 5 years. PBAM returned 27.5% a year at 18.9% volatility, against 17.3% a year at 24.3%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 22 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than JPM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT (Walmart), TJX (TJX Companies) and BTI (British American Tobacco p.l.c.).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in JPM at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $189,407 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 JPM, and RY finished highest, at $442,765.

## JPM 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.

- JPM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 74.0%, from March 2000 to October 2002. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, JPM's best was 2003, when it returned 60.5%, and its worst was 2002, when it lost 30.7%. It lost money in nine of those years.
- JPM is 7.4% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Banks - Diversified)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $895B
- Volatility (5 years): 24.3%; Sharpe ratio: 0.78
- Worst decline ever: −74.0%, from March 23, 2000 to October 9, 2002; back at its high by January 31, 2007

| Period | JPM total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −0.5% |
| 3 months | −2.9% |
| 6 months | +8.5% |
| year to date | +5.4% |
| 1 year | +16.6% |
| 3 years | +154% |
| 5 years | +122% |
| 10 years | +534% |

## JPM against the whole market

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

### How does JPM rank among all stocks?

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

- JPM is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 10% of the 2,897 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | JPM | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +16.6% | 1,392 of 3,282 (top 43%) |
| 3-year return | +154% | 575 of 3,016 (top 20%) |
| 5-year return | +122% | 569 of 2,897 (top 20%) |
| 10-year return | +534% | 271 of 2,201 (top 13%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 24.3% | 277 of 2,897 (top 10%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.78 | 310 of 2,897 (top 11%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −43.6% | 245 of 2,184 (top 12%) |

### What has beaten JPM 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).

- 12 stocks and ten ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than JPM 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 JPM's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 22% less than JPM's 24.3%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 0.78 for JPM.
- None of JPM's popular alternatives made it, but DXJ (japan equity) did: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 22% less than JPM's 24.3%.

### Is there a better investment than JPM?

The table below lists investments that beat JPM 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 JPM's popular alternatives, HSBC and BNY earned more than JPM over the past 5 years with similar volatility: HSBC returned 32.8% a year at 25.9% volatility, against 17.3% a year at 24.3%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PBAM (regional banks) and CM (banks) earned more than JPM with less volatility over the past 5 years. PBAM returned 27.5% a year at 18.9% volatility, against 17.3% a year at 24.3%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 22 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than JPM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT, TJX and BTI.

The 15 strongest of 22 investments that beat JPM 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 JPM | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| JPM: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (this page) |  | +17.3% | 24.3% | 0.78 | −43.6% | +534% |  |  |
| [WMT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +21.1% | 22.6% | 0.97 | −25.7% | +521% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [TRV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +22.4% | 22.3% | 1.02 | −46.3% | +360% | 0.61 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [COR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cor): Cencora, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +23.6% | 22.8% | 1.05 | −32.4% | +403% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [CM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cm): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | Banks | +19.5% | 21.6% | 0.94 | −47.3% | +409% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DBJP: Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF | Japan Equity | +20.9% | 19.3% | 1.09 | −31.3% | +339% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [TJX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tjx): The TJX Companies, Inc. | Apparel Retail | +19.8% | 22.3% | 0.93 | −42.5% | +357% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [BTI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bti): British American Tobacco p.l.c. | Tobacco | +19.4% | 22.0% | 0.92 | −56.1% | +110% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [MO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mo): Altria Group, Inc. | Tobacco | +18.3% | 21.4% | 0.90 | −53.7% | +133% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [MPLX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +24.0% | 18.8% | 1.25 | −75.2% | +337% | 0.52 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [KMI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/kmi): Kinder Morgan, Inc. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +20.1% | 22.3% | 0.94 | −55.1% | +159% | 0.50 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [AFL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/afl): Aflac Incorporated | Life Insurance | +19.5% | 20.8% | 0.97 | −54.9% | +344% | 0.56 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [ETR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/etr): Entergy Corporation | Electric Utilities | +19.8% | 22.4% | 0.92 | −42.0% | +326% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| SDCI: USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund | Broad Commodities | +21.1% | 18.4% | 1.14 | −45.7% | — | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| WRB: W. R. Berkley Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +18.6% | 22.9% | 0.86 | −45.3% | +466% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | Japan Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +415% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## JPM against its popular alternatives

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

### How do JPM'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 25 popular alternatives earned more than JPM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 19 of the 25 popular alternatives earned less than JPM over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, JPM returned 17.3% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (24.3% against 17.2%).

### Has JPM consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares JPM 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 JPM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was BNY.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of JPM | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| JPM: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (this page) | +16.6% | +154% | +122% | +534% |  |  | 0.78 |
| [BNY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bny): Bank of New York Mellon Corp | +38.1% | +277% | +179% | +332% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.97 |
| [HSBC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | +44.7% | +199% | +313% | +314% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 1.23 |
| [MS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ms): Morgan Stanley | +19.0% | +181% | +112% | +630% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [GS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gs): The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | +22.1% | +218% | +143% | +524% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| [MA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ma): Mastercard Incorporated | +11.5% | +68.0% | +81.9% | +551% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.62 |
| [STT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/stt): State Street Corporation | +51.8% | +186% | +97.6% | +213% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.61 |
| CFG: Citizens Financial Group, Inc. | +32.8% | +212% | +59.4% | +261% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| NTRS: Northern Trust Corporation | +34.9% | +181% | +53.5% | +206% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.44 |
| [C](https://betterthanspy.com/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | +29.9% | +245% | +104% | +234% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| [V](https://betterthanspy.com/research/v): Visa Inc. | +20.9% | +83.1% | +86.1% | +435% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.66 |
| [BLK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/blk): BlackRock, Inc. | +2.8% | +97.8% | +40.3% | +324% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| [BMO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bmo): Bank of Montreal | +40.2% | +150% | +92.4% | +304% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| RF: Regions Financial Corporation | +22.6% | +128% | +45.0% | +285% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.40 |
| [FITB](https://betterthanspy.com/research/fitb): Fifth Third Bancorp | +31.9% | +157% | +41.4% | +255% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| [USB](https://betterthanspy.com/research/usb): U.S. Bancorp | +31.7% | +118% | +19.1% | +97.4% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| [SPGI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spgi): S&P Global Inc. | −4.7% | +32.6% | +4.9% | +298% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.17 |
| [PNC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pnc): The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. | +28.6% | +129% | +25.8% | +237% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.31 |
| [COF](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cof): Capital One Financial Corporation | −6.3% | +136% | +32.3% | +221% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| MTB: M&T Bank Corporation | +25.9% | +119% | +63.1% | +148% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.48 |
| KEY: KeyCorp | +26.3% | +147% | +12.5% | +146% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| [AXP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/axp): American Express Company | −6.6% | +133% | +84.7% | +455% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| [TFC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tfc): Truist Financial Corporation | +15.8% | +108% | −4.4% | +87.1% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.13 |
| [BAC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | +2.1% | +115% | +21.4% | +281% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| [WFC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wfc): Wells Fargo & Company | +1.1% | +126% | +85.1% | +140% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| HBAN: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated | +2.5% | +85.1% | +17.1% | +135% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |

### How did JPM do year by year?

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

- JPM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 16 of its 29 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last four.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, JPM finished in the top quarter in nine of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 9 of 26.
- Among its popular alternatives, SPGI came out ahead of JPM most often, in 21 of the 29 years both traded.

| Year | JPM | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +37.3% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +44.3% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +30.6% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −12.6% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +27.8% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −5.5% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +47.3% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −6.6% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +26.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +34.5% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How JPM 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 JPM's worst declines?

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

- In all three of JPM's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The slowest recovery came after JPM fell 74.0% from March 2000 to October 2002; it did not regain that peak until January 2007, four years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −74.0% | March 23, 2000 | October 9, 2002 | January 31, 2007 | −47.2% | dot-com bust |
| −72.7% | October 9, 1989 | October 31, 1990 | March 20, 1992 | — |  |
| −68.1% | May 9, 2007 | March 9, 2009 | January 16, 2013 | −53.2% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −56.2% | February 19, 1987 | January 22, 1988 | September 28, 1989 | — |  |
| −47.3% | July 6, 1998 | October 7, 1998 | January 7, 1999 | −16.0% |  |

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

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

- JPM fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when JPM fell 74.0% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, V held up best, falling less than JPM in six of the eight crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | JPM fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −74.0% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −67.7% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.1% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −32.1% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −22.0% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −5.6% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −21.3% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −42.5% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −37.9% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −5.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does JPM 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, JPM captured 117% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 103% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.09. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Only HSBC, MA and V had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than JPM's 1.14, out of 25 popular alternatives with the same record.
- MA took just 88% of the S&P 500's losses, against 103% for JPM, while still keeping 105% of its gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| JPM: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (this page) | 117% | 103% | 1.09 |
| [BNY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bny): Bank of New York Mellon Corp | 115% | 120% | 1.08 |
| [HSBC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | 79.0% | 53.0% | 0.58 |
| [MS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ms): Morgan Stanley | 142% | 137% | 1.39 |
| [GS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gs): The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | 136% | 133% | 1.39 |
| [MA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ma): Mastercard Incorporated | 105% | 88.0% | 0.95 |
| [STT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/stt): State Street Corporation | 128% | 166% | 1.48 |
| CFG: Citizens Financial Group, Inc. | 118% | 140% | 1.37 |
| NTRS: Northern Trust Corporation | 111% | 136% | 1.18 |
| [C](https://betterthanspy.com/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | 131% | 165% | 1.49 |
| [V](https://betterthanspy.com/research/v): Visa Inc. | 93.0% | 79.0% | 0.87 |
| [BLK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/blk): BlackRock, Inc. | 127% | 157% | 1.30 |
| [BMO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bmo): Bank of Montreal | 104% | 112% | 1.12 |
| RF: Regions Financial Corporation | 113% | 127% | 1.26 |
| [FITB](https://betterthanspy.com/research/fitb): Fifth Third Bancorp | 102% | 114% | 1.22 |
| [USB](https://betterthanspy.com/research/usb): U.S. Bancorp | 89.0% | 130% | 1.05 |
| [SPGI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spgi): S&P Global Inc. | 107% | 125% | 1.04 |
| [PNC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pnc): The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. | 108% | 127% | 1.15 |
| [COF](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cof): Capital One Financial Corporation | 115% | 146% | 1.39 |
| MTB: M&T Bank Corporation | 75.0% | 86.0% | 0.86 |
| KEY: KeyCorp | 100% | 132% | 1.28 |
| [AXP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/axp): American Express Company | 117% | 113% | 1.16 |
| [TFC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tfc): Truist Financial Corporation | 86.0% | 126% | 1.11 |
| [BAC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | 127% | 146% | 1.36 |
| [WFC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wfc): Wells Fargo & Company | 96.0% | 129% | 1.13 |
| HBAN: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated | 89.0% | 116% | 1.13 |

### What diversifies JPM?

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 JPM into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+18.0% for JPM alone, +18.9% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, SMH and XLE have moved largely independently of JPM over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.42 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in six of the nine calendar years in which JPM lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with JPM | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in JPM's 9 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.31 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 9 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.38 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 3 of 9 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.42 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 4 of 9 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | -0.03 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 4 of 9 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.35 | +147% | 24.3% | 0.87 | 3 of 9 |
| EDIV: State Street SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF | 0.37 | +69.0% | 13.8% | 0.83 | 0 of 9 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.20 | +66.7% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 9 |
| PTLC: Pacer Trendpilot US Large Cap ETF | 0.44 | +56.0% | 11.9% | 0.81 | 1 of 9 |

## Common questions

### What was JPM's worst drawdown?

JPM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 74.0%, from March 2000 to October 2002. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, JPM's best year was 2003, when it returned 60.5%. Its worst was 2002, with a return of -30.7%.

### Is there a better investment than JPM?

Among JPM's popular alternatives, HSBC and BNY earned more than JPM over the past 5 years with similar volatility: HSBC returned 32.8% a year at 25.9% volatility, against 17.3% a year at 24.3%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PBAM (regional banks) and CM (banks) earned more than JPM with less volatility over the past 5 years. PBAM returned 27.5% a year at 18.9% volatility, against 17.3% a year at 24.3%.

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

Yes. JPM's volatility over the past 5 years was 24.3%, 1.4 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, JPM's return lands within 24.3% 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 JPM's Sharpe ratio?

JPM's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.78, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so JPM 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 JPM with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, JPM's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.66 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 JPM instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a JPM holding.

### What are the best alternatives to JPM?

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

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

JPM finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 16 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +37.3%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

JPM fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in two of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in eight. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when JPM fell 74.0% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies JPM?

These had a low correlation with JPM over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.31), SMH (correlation 0.38) and XLE (correlation 0.42); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.33), CLS (correlation 0.48) and MCK (correlation 0.25). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bny)
- [HSBC Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hsbc)
- [Morgan Stanley (MS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ms)
- [Goldman Sachs Group (GS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gs)
- [Mastercard (MA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ma)
- [State Street (STT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/stt)
- [Citigroup (C) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/c)
- [Visa (V) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/v)
- [BlackRock (BLK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/blk)
- [Bank of Montreal (BMO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bmo)
- [Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/fitb)
- [U.S. Bancorp (USB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/usb)

## Explore further

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