# How Newmont (NEM) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/nem
> 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 NEM alone. It places NEM (Newmont Corporation) 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 NEM stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: NEM'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, NEM rose 19.4% against 2.5% for the S&P 500. Its gold mining peers were far apart over the past 3 months, from BTG (B2Gold, up 23.6%) to B (Barrick Mining, up 3.4%).
- **Stock or market?:** More than an industry move: NEM rose 19.4% over the past 3 months, against 6.5% for the gold mining ETF GDX (VanEck Gold Miners ETF). The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Its gold mining peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: BTG (B2Gold) rose 23.6%, while B (Barrick Mining) rose 3.4%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** NEM has run far ahead of the market, rising 32.4% 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 (214% against 88.4%).
- **Long term:** The past 5 years have been the better stretch: NEM rose 127% against 80.3% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade. On the flip side, NEM turned $10,000 into $40,700 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, NEM fell 51.8%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than AEM (Agnico Eagle Mines, 42.0%) but less than GFI (Gold Fields, 56.2%). NEM fell further than the S&P 500 in two of the last three sell-offs, including the 2022 bear market (51.8% against 24.5%).
- **Diversification:** NEM is a real diversifier: a correlation of 0.20 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.20 with the total US market, less closely than 85% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Over 10 years NEM kept more of the market's gains than of its losses: 68% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 45% of its losses in falling ones, with a beta of 0.39.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** WPM (Wheaton Precious Metals) and RGLD (Royal Gold) earned more than NEM with less volatility over the past 5 years. WPM returned 25.8% a year at 37.0% volatility, against 17.8% a year at 39.1%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** RS (Reliance Steel & Aluminum, metals & mining) earned more than NEM with less volatility over the past 5 years: 24.8% a year at 28.1% volatility, against 17.8% a year at 39.1%.
  - **Whole market:** 200 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than NEM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), LLY (Eli Lilly and Company) and WMT (Walmart).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in NEM at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $39,676 by September 2026, less than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Six of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of NEM, and RGLD finished highest, at $370,307.

## NEM 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.

- NEM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 78.0%, from May 1996 to October 2000. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, NEM's best was 2025, when it returned 173%, and its worst was 2013, when it lost 48.5%. It lost money in 15 of those years.
- NEM is 15.4% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Materials (Gold)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $120B
- Volatility (5 years): 39.1%; Sharpe ratio: 0.62
- Worst decline ever: −78.0%, from May 31, 1996 to October 25, 2000; back at its high by January 4, 2006

| Period | NEM total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −10.3% |
| 3 months | +19.4% |
| 6 months | +2.5% |
| year to date | +13.5% |
| 1 year | +32.4% |
| 3 years | +214% |
| 5 years | +127% |
| 10 years | +307% |

## NEM against the whole market

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

### How does NEM rank among all stocks?

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

- NEM's 3-year return ranks in the top 12% of the 3,016 stocks worth at least $300 million with 3 years of history.

| Measure | NEM | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +32.4% | 932 of 3,282 (top 29%) |
| 3-year return | +214% | 355 of 3,016 (top 12%) |
| 5-year return | +127% | 543 of 2,897 (top 19%) |
| 10-year return | +307% | 568 of 2,201 (top 26%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 39.1% | 1,408 of 2,897 (top 49%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.62 | 634 of 2,897 (top 22%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −62.4% | 975 of 2,184 (top 45%) |

### What has beaten NEM 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).

- 175 stocks and 25 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than NEM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 5% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half NEM's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 37% less than NEM's 39.1%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against 0.62 for NEM. MPC earned the most, 50.0% a year, while still swinging less than NEM (33.4% against 39.1%).
- Among NEM's popular alternatives, WPM and RGLD are in the region. WPM earned 25.8% a year against 17.8% a year for NEM, at 37.0% volatility, 5% less than NEM's 39.1%.

### Is there a better investment than NEM?

The table below lists investments that beat NEM 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 NEM's popular alternatives, WPM and RGLD earned more than NEM with less volatility over the past 5 years. WPM returned 25.8% a year at 37.0% volatility, against 17.8% a year at 39.1%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, RS (metals & mining) earned more than NEM with less volatility over the past 5 years: 24.8% a year at 28.1% volatility, against 17.8% a year at 39.1%.
- Across the whole market, 200 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than NEM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, LLY and WMT.

The 15 strongest of 200 investments that beat NEM 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 NEM | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NEM: Newmont Corporation (this page) |  | +17.8% | 39.1% | 0.62 | −62.4% | +307% |  |  |
| [CAH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +41.7% | 24.7% | 1.54 | −46.1% | +345% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [AAPL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Computer Hardware | +19.1% | 28.0% | 0.77 | −38.5% | +1,194% | 0.12 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [LLY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +41.2% | 32.8% | 1.22 | −34.5% | +1,870% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | Japan Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +415% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MUFG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mufg): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.5% | 29.4% | 1.14 | −54.9% | +485% | 0.11 | 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% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MFG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mfg): Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.9% | 30.6% | 1.11 | −45.7% | +343% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [SMFG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smfg): Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +34.0% | 29.4% | 1.15 | −47.6% | +470% | 0.07 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cm): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | Banks | +19.5% | 21.6% | 0.94 | −47.3% | +409% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [BNY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bny): Bank of New York Mellon Corp | Banks | +22.8% | 24.4% | 0.97 | −50.5% | +332% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [TRV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +22.4% | 22.3% | 1.02 | −46.3% | +360% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GWW](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gww): W.W. Grainger, Inc. | Industrial Distribution | +26.7% | 24.9% | 1.08 | −41.6% | +670% | -0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | Semiconductors | +32.2% | 37.0% | 0.94 | −45.3% | +1,570% | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| CBOE: Cboe Global Markets, Inc. | Capital Markets | +22.0% | 25.1% | 0.92 | −43.2% | +481% | 0.16 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| SNX: TD Synnex Corp | Technology Distribution | +20.2% | 30.4% | 0.76 | −55.8% | +427% | 0.16 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## NEM against its popular alternatives

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

### How do NEM'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.

- AEM, WPM and RGLD were both more rewarding and calmer than NEM over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, NEM returned 17.8% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (39.1% against 17.2%).

### Has NEM consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- None of the 20 popular alternatives outperformed NEM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was AU.
- GLD, AEM and GFI earned more for the risk they took than NEM (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.
- AEM outperformed NEM over all three long-term periods but in only one of the five short-term ones, so NEM has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of NEM | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NEM: Newmont Corporation (this page) | +32.4% | +214% | +127% | +307% |  |  | 0.62 |
| [AU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/au): AngloGold Ashanti Plc | +33.7% | +395% | +400% | +661% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| [AEM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aem): Agnico Eagle Mines Limited | +8.7% | +275% | +246% | +335% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.84 |
| KGC: Kinross Gold Corporation | −3.2% | +336% | +291% | +573% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.83 |
| HMY: Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited | −4.6% | +261% | +353% | +516% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.81 |
| IAG: Iamgold Corporation | +36.3% | +590% | +474% | +304% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.88 |
| EGO: Eldorado Gold Corporation | +26.2% | +223% | +243% | +86.4% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| GFI: Gold Fields Limited | −6.8% | +179% | +333% | +1,041% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.82 |
| [WPM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wpm): Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. | +27.9% | +191% | +215% | +488% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.81 |
| [FCX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/fcx): Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | +59.9% | +100% | +83.7% | +606% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| RGLD: Royal Gold, Inc. | +28.9% | +124% | +151% | +291% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.73 |
| AGI: Alamos Gold Inc. | −4.5% | +140% | +292% | +276% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.86 |
| CDE: Coeur Mining, Inc. | −26.8% | +436% | +107% | +25.3% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.55 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | −2.2% | +102% | +120% | +206% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.93 |
| SSRM: SSR Mining Inc. | +30.2% | +105% | +86.6% | +183% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.54 |
| BTG: B2Gold Corp. | −5.1% | +62.3% | +36.0% | +129% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| [FNV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/fnv): Franco-Nevada Corporation | +23.0% | +71.5% | +69.7% | +302% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| [B](https://betterthanspy.com/research/b): Barrick Mining Corporation | +25.2% | +150% | +127% | +189% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| PAAS: Pan American Silver Corp. | +16.0% | +186% | +74.4% | +187% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| AG: First Majestic Silver Corp. | +19.7% | +178% | +16.8% | +91.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| EQX: Equinox Gold Corp. | −5.8% | +128% | +34.2% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |

### How did NEM do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, NEM finished in the top quarter in two of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in five. In 2025, it ranked 10 of 21.
- NEM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 11 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, WPM came out ahead of NEM most often, in 13 of the 20 years both traded.

| Year | NEM | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +173% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −7.8% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −8.8% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −20.8% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +7.4% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +40.3% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +30.5% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −6.2% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +10.9% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +90.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How NEM 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 NEM's worst declines?

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

- In all four of NEM's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: NEM fell 78.0% from May 1996 to October 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 117%.
- The slowest recovery came after NEM fell 58.8% from September to October 1987; it did not regain that peak until January 1996, eight years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −78.0% | May 31, 1996 | October 25, 2000 | January 4, 2006 | +117% | dot-com bust |
| −76.6% | November 7, 2011 | September 23, 2015 | April 23, 2020 | +66.5% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −64.4% | February 1, 2006 | October 27, 2008 | June 17, 2010 | −31.1% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −62.4% | April 18, 2022 | February 27, 2024 | September 10, 2025 | +19.0% | 2022 bear market |
| −58.8% | September 18, 1987 | October 20, 1987 | January 3, 1996 | — |  |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, GLD held up best, falling less than NEM in eight of the nine crashes they both traded through.
- NEM fell further than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when NEM fell 51.8% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

| Crash | Dates | NEM fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −53.0% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −61.5% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −2.3% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −12.0% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −20.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.0% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −9.5% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −24.5% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −51.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −1.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does NEM 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, NEM captured 68% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 45% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.39. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- WPM took just 37% of the S&P 500's losses, against 45% for NEM, while still keeping 78% of its gains.
- Six of the 19 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than NEM's 1.52, led by GLD, SSRM and GFI.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NEM: Newmont Corporation (this page) | 68.0% | 45.0% | 0.39 |
| [AU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/au): AngloGold Ashanti Plc | 88.0% | 40.0% | 0.61 |
| [AEM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aem): Agnico Eagle Mines Limited | 77.0% | 57.0% | 0.70 |
| KGC: Kinross Gold Corporation | 100% | 70.0% | 0.83 |
| HMY: Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited | 89.0% | 57.0% | 1.07 |
| IAG: Iamgold Corporation | 120% | 131% | 1.17 |
| EGO: Eldorado Gold Corporation | 82.0% | 115% | 1.06 |
| GFI: Gold Fields Limited | 102% | 46.0% | 0.69 |
| [WPM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wpm): Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. | 78.0% | 37.0% | 0.48 |
| [FCX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/fcx): Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | 164% | 181% | 1.74 |
| RGLD: Royal Gold, Inc. | 69.0% | 54.0% | 0.56 |
| AGI: Alamos Gold Inc. | 76.0% | 52.0% | 0.80 |
| CDE: Coeur Mining, Inc. | 126% | 213% | 1.56 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 40.0% | 3.0% | 0.14 |
| SSRM: SSR Mining Inc. | 39.0% | 5.0% | 0.46 |
| BTG: B2Gold Corp. | 63.0% | 61.0% | 0.78 |
| [FNV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/fnv): Franco-Nevada Corporation | 69.0% | 47.0% | 0.49 |
| [B](https://betterthanspy.com/research/b): Barrick Mining Corporation | 57.0% | 43.0% | 0.40 |
| PAAS: Pan American Silver Corp. | 95.0% | 111% | 1.00 |
| AG: First Majestic Silver Corp. | 77.0% | 114% | 0.96 |

### What diversifies NEM?

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 NEM into CAH would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+19.5% for NEM alone, +25.1% for the mix).
- CAH made money in 11 of the 15 calendar years in which NEM lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of NEM over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.39 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with NEM | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in NEM's 15 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.39 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 3 of 15 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.15 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 7 of 15 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.26 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 5 of 15 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.40 | +86.8% | 13.0% | 1.03 | 6 of 15 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.28 | +83.6% | 13.8% | 0.95 | 6 of 15 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.05 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 6 of 15 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.19 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 8 of 15 |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | 0.47 | +99.4% | 16.4% | 0.93 | 2 of 15 |

## Common questions

### What was NEM's worst drawdown?

NEM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 78.0%, from May 1996 to October 2000. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, NEM's best year was 2025, when it returned 173%. Its worst was 2013, with a return of -48.5%.

### Is there a better investment than NEM?

Among NEM's popular alternatives, WPM and RGLD earned more than NEM with less volatility over the past 5 years. WPM returned 25.8% a year at 37.0% volatility, against 17.8% a year at 39.1%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, RS (metals & mining) earned more than NEM with less volatility over the past 5 years: 24.8% a year at 28.1% volatility, against 17.8% a year at 39.1%.

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

Yes. NEM's volatility over the past 5 years was 39.1%, 2.3 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, NEM's return lands within 39.1% 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 NEM's Sharpe ratio?

NEM's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.62, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so NEM 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 NEM with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, NEM's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.20 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 NEM instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a NEM holding.

### What are the best alternatives to NEM?

None of the 20 popular alternatives we compared outperformed NEM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about NEM's strength than about its alternatives.

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

NEM finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 11 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +173%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

NEM fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in five. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when NEM fell 51.8% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies NEM?

These had a low correlation with NEM over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.39), DXJ (correlation 0.15) and EMLP (correlation 0.26); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.01), CLS (correlation -0.14) and MCK (correlation 0.15). 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/nem
- All research pages: https://betterthanspy.com/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against NEM live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=NEM