# How Marriott International (MAR) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/mar
> 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 MAR alone. It places MAR (Marriott International, 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 MAR stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: MAR's full trading record, from October 1993 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 22, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 3 months, MAR rose 7.5% against 2.5% for the S&P 500. Its hotels & resort peers split over the past 3 months: HLT (Hilton Worldwide) rose 10.5%, while H (Hyatt Hotels) fell 5.5%.
- **Stock or market?:** MAR's 7.5% gain over the past 3 months far outran its industry: the hotels & resorts ETF PEJ (Invesco Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment ETF) rose 1.4%. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Last month cut against the tape: MAR rose 14.0% while the S&P 500 fell 1.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** MAR has run far ahead of the market, rising 47.1% over the past year against 15.6% for the S&P 500 and 16.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (116% against 88.4%).
- **Long term:** MAR turned $10,000 into $64,400 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. MAR's 10-year return of 544% 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, MAR has typically fallen 1.4 times as far as the S&P 500. In the Covid crash, MAR fell 56.6%, against 33.7% for the S&P 500. That was more than HLT (Hilton Worldwide, 49.6%) but less than H (Hyatt Hotels, 60.5%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, MAR has a correlation of 0.70 over 5 years, more closely than 99% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion.
- **Better options:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 21 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MAR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them XOM (Exxonmobil), ABBV (AbbVie) and HSBC.

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in MAR over the past 23 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of MAR over the same span and MAR's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in MAR at the end of September 2003 would have grown to $220,765 by September 2026, more than the $116,093 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of MAR, and BKNG finished highest, at $1,441,727.

## MAR 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.

- MAR's deepest decline since it began trading in 1993 was 75.6%, from April 2007 to November 2008. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, MAR's best was 2017, when it returned 66.2%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 42.3%. It lost money in nine of those years.
- MAR is 1.8% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Discretionary (Travel Lodging)
- Trading since: October 13, 1993
- Market value: $103B
- Volatility (5 years): 28.6%; Sharpe ratio: 0.83
- Worst decline ever: −75.6%, from April 18, 2007 to November 20, 2008; back at its high by November 1, 2013

| Period | MAR total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +14.0% |
| 3 months | +7.5% |
| 6 months | +8.5% |
| year to date | +27.4% |
| 1 year | +47.1% |
| 3 years | +116% |
| 5 years | +167% |
| 10 years | +544% |

## MAR against the whole market

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

### How does MAR rank among all stocks?

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

- On return for the risk taken (the Sharpe ratio), MAR ranks in the top 8% of the 2,897 stocks worth at least $300 million.

| Measure | MAR | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +47.1% | 604 of 3,282 (top 19%) |
| 3-year return | +116% | 810 of 3,016 (top 27%) |
| 5-year return | +167% | 386 of 2,897 (top 14%) |
| 10-year return | +544% | 268 of 2,201 (top 13%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 28.6% | 604 of 2,897 (top 21%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.83 | 236 of 2,897 (top 9%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −61.3% | 932 of 2,184 (top 43%) |

### What has beaten MAR 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).

- 19 stocks and two ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than MAR 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 MAR's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 14% less than MAR's 28.6%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against 0.83 for MAR.

### Is there a better investment than MAR?

The table below lists investments that beat MAR 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.

- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 21 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MAR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them XOM, ABBV and HSBC.

The 15 strongest of 21 investments that beat MAR 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 MAR | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MAR: Marriott International, Inc. (this page) |  | +21.7% | 28.6% | 0.83 | −61.3% | +544% |  |  |
| [CAH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +41.7% | 24.7% | 1.54 | −46.1% | +345% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [ABBV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Specialty Pharmaceuticals | +25.5% | 23.4% | 1.09 | −45.1% | +600% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MCK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | Health Care Distribution | +37.8% | 25.1% | 1.41 | −38.1% | +582% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GILD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gild): Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Biotechnology | +22.8% | 24.9% | 0.95 | −30.5% | +202% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [E](https://betterthanspy.com/research/e): Eni S.p.A. | Integrated Oil & Gas | +23.7% | 25.6% | 0.96 | −61.4% | +283% | 0.31 | 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% | 0.48 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [BNY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bny): Bank of New York Mellon Corp | Banks | +22.8% | 24.4% | 0.97 | −50.5% | +332% | 0.50 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [GWW](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gww): W.W. Grainger, Inc. | Industrial Distribution | +26.7% | 24.9% | 1.08 | −41.6% | +670% | 0.54 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [COR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cor): Cencora, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +23.6% | 22.8% | 1.05 | −32.4% | +403% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DTM: DT Midstream, Inc. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +25.0% | 25.2% | 1.02 | −23.6% | — | 0.57 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [WELL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/well): Welltower Inc. | Healthcare REITs | +27.0% | 23.8% | 1.13 | −63.3% | +378% | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [MPLX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +24.0% | 18.8% | 1.25 | −75.2% | +337% | 0.57 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [XOM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xom): Exxonmobil Holdings Corporation | Integrated Oil & Gas | +27.5% | 26.5% | 1.05 | −61.0% | +216% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| EPU: iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF | International Equity | +28.1% | 24.9% | 1.12 | −51.0% | +258% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [HSBC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | Banks | +32.8% | 25.9% | 1.23 | −62.3% | +314% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## MAR against its popular alternatives

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

### How do MAR'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 22 popular alternatives earned more than MAR over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 18 of the 22 popular alternatives earned less than MAR over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, MAR returned 21.7% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (28.6% against 17.2%).

### Has MAR consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- None of the 22 popular alternatives outperformed MAR in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was HLT.
- IHG and HLT earned more for the risk they took than MAR (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of MAR | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MAR: Marriott International, Inc. (this page) | +47.1% | +116% | +167% | +544% |  |  | 0.83 |
| [HLT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hlt): Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | +30.4% | +144% | +156% | +693% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.84 |
| [RCL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rcl): Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | −8.2% | +264% | +250% | +357% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| IHG: InterContinental Hotels Group PLC | +34.7% | +145% | +167% | +387% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.88 |
| EXPE: Expedia Group, Inc. | +32.8% | +218% | +87.2% | +146% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| CCL: Carnival Corporation & plc | −8.3% | +142% | +23.5% | −34.3% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.35 |
| TNL: Travel + Leisure Co. | −0.4% | +129% | +56.3% | +218% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.43 |
| APLE: Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. | +66.1% | +44.8% | +57.1% | +70.8% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| VAC: Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation | +64.1% | +40.5% | −14.8% | +115% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.15 |
| DRH: DiamondRock Hospitality Company | +83.7% | +105% | +74.4% | +101% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.51 |
| SHO: Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. | +40.3% | +51.8% | +18.2% | +33.3% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| PK: Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. | +60.2% | +101% | +35.0% | — | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.35 |
| RHP: Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. | +53.7% | +76.4% | +85.3% | +273% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| HST: Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | +59.7% | +92.6% | +89.6% | +144% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| PEB: Pebblebrook Hotel Trust | +89.6% | +61.1% | −4.7% | −6.8% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.17 |
| RLJ: RLJ Lodging Trust | +81.5% | +52.3% | +5.0% | −9.3% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| INN: Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. | +37.3% | +45.5% | −15.1% | −22.6% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |
| [ABNB](https://betterthanspy.com/research/abnb): Airbnb, Inc. | +37.9% | +46.0% | +5.5% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.24 |
| H: Hyatt Hotels Corporation | +16.8% | +75.7% | +117% | +264% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| [BKNG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bkng): Booking Holdings Inc. | −22.3% | +46.2% | +72.2% | +180% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| CHH: Choice Hotels International, Inc. | +10.2% | +1.6% | −12.8% | +172% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| HGV: Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. | −19.5% | +1.8% | −24.9% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.05 |
| WH: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | −4.5% | +9.1% | +0.8% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.15 |

### How did MAR do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, MAR finished in the top quarter in six of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in two. In 2025, it ranked 8 of 23.
- MAR finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 18 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, RCL came out ahead of MAR most often, in 17 of the 29 years both traded.

| Year | MAR | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +12.3% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +53.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −9.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +25.3% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −12.5% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +41.5% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −19.0% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +66.2% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +25.4% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How MAR 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 MAR's worst declines?

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

- In all five of MAR's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: MAR fell 39.1% from April 1999 to March 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 0.7%.
- The slowest recovery came after MAR fell 75.6% from April 2007 to November 2008; it did not regain that peak until November 2013, five years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −75.6% | April 18, 2007 | November 20, 2008 | November 1, 2013 | −47.2% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −61.3% | December 26, 2019 | April 3, 2020 | February 24, 2021 | −22.7% | Covid crash |
| −46.7% | March 25, 1998 | October 6, 1998 | February 18, 1999 | −9.9% |  |
| −46.2% | May 22, 2001 | October 7, 2002 | May 21, 2004 | −38.6% | dot-com bust |
| −39.1% | April 27, 1999 | March 7, 2000 | January 3, 2001 | +0.7% |  |

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

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

- MAR fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when MAR fell 56.6% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.
- Among its popular alternatives, CHH held up best, falling less than MAR in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | MAR fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −46.2% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −70.1% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −2.8% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −25.6% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −24.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −5.2% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −24.0% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −56.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −29.9% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −7.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does MAR 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.

- Only HLT had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than MAR's 0.96, out of 18 popular alternatives with the same record.
- HLT took just 105% of the S&P 500's losses, against 137% for MAR, while still keeping 121% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, MAR captured 132% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 137% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.46. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MAR: Marriott International, Inc. (this page) | 132% | 137% | 1.46 |
| [HLT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hlt): Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | 121% | 105% | 1.18 |
| [RCL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rcl): Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | 171% | 231% | 2.24 |
| IHG: InterContinental Hotels Group PLC | 115% | 125% | 1.19 |
| EXPE: Expedia Group, Inc. | 104% | 144% | 1.48 |
| CCL: Carnival Corporation & plc | 135% | 289% | 2.30 |
| TNL: Travel + Leisure Co. | 124% | 167% | 1.54 |
| APLE: Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. | 64.0% | 99.0% | 1.08 |
| VAC: Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation | 121% | 195% | 1.88 |
| DRH: DiamondRock Hospitality Company | 96.0% | 145% | 1.41 |
| SHO: Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. | 77.0% | 137% | 1.15 |
| RHP: Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. | 109% | 128% | 1.46 |
| HST: Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | 97.0% | 136% | 1.22 |
| PEB: Pebblebrook Hotel Trust | 101% | 205% | 1.69 |
| RLJ: RLJ Lodging Trust | 87.0% | 182% | 1.57 |
| INN: Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. | 87.0% | 194% | 1.79 |
| H: Hyatt Hotels Corporation | 115% | 143% | 1.42 |
| [BKNG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bkng): Booking Holdings Inc. | 99.0% | 123% | 1.17 |
| CHH: Choice Hotels International, Inc. | 85.0% | 105% | 1.06 |

### What diversifies MAR?

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 MAR into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+20.2% for MAR alone, +20.7% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, SMH and XLE have moved largely independently of MAR over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- FIX made money in six of the nine calendar years in which MAR lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with MAR | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in MAR's 9 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.48 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 9 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.47 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 3 of 9 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.36 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 3 of 9 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.01 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 4 of 9 |
| EUFN: iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF | 0.41 | +130% | 21.8% | 0.88 | 0 of 9 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.40 | +147% | 24.3% | 0.87 | 3 of 9 |
| IDV: iShares International Select Dividend ETF | 0.45 | +81.7% | 15.5% | 0.85 | 0 of 9 |
| EDIV: State Street SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF | 0.41 | +69.0% | 13.8% | 0.83 | 0 of 9 |

## Common questions

### What was MAR's worst drawdown?

MAR's deepest decline since it began trading in 1993 was 75.6%, from April 2007 to November 2008. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, MAR's best year was 2017, when it returned 66.2%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -42.3%.

### Is there a better investment than MAR?

Few investments have done better on both counts: only 21 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MAR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them XOM, ABBV and HSBC.

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

Yes. MAR's volatility over the past 5 years was 28.6%, 1.7 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, MAR's return lands within 28.6% 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 MAR's Sharpe ratio?

MAR's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.83, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so MAR 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 MAR with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, MAR's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.70 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 MAR instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a MAR holding.

### What are the best alternatives to MAR?

None of the 22 popular alternatives we compared outperformed MAR in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about MAR's strength than about its alternatives.

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

MAR finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 18 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +12.3%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

MAR 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 Covid crash, when MAR fell 56.6% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

### What diversifies MAR?

These had a low correlation with MAR over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.48), SMH (correlation 0.47) and XLE (correlation 0.36); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.34), CLS (correlation 0.47) and MCK (correlation 0.22). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/goog)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amzn)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vti)
- [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tsm)

## Explore further

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