# How Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/schb
> 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 SCHB alone. It places SCHB (Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF) 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 SCHB stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: SCHB's full trading record, from November 2009 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 22, 2026.

## Key findings

- **What you're buying:** A correlation of 0.98 with DFAC (Dimensional - US Core Equity 2 ETF) over 5 years: effectively the same bet as the larger fund.
- **Right now:** Both SCHB and the total US stock market are within a few percent of a record high.
- **Fund or market?:** SCHB rose 1.8% over the past 3 months, in line with the total US stock market, which rose 1.9%: a market move, not its own.
- **Long term:** Over the past decade, SCHB returned 14.3% a year against 14.8% a year for the total US stock market (282% in total against 298%). Even so, SCHB's 10-year return of 282% puts it ahead of 88% of the ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with that much history. The total US stock market returned 298%.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, SCHB fell harder than most of its similar funds, including RSP (Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF), DFAC and FNDX.
- **Diversification:** Against the total US stock market, SCHB has a correlation of 1.00 over 5 years, more closely than 99% of ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. When the total US stock market had a down month, SCHB usually fell with it (25 of 25 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** IUS (Invesco RAFI Strategic US ETF, US total market) and SIXA (ETC 6 Meridian Mega Cap Equity ETF, US large-cap equity) earned more than SCHB with less volatility over the past 5 years. IUS returned 14.7% a year at 14.9% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 44 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than SCHB with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them EFV (iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF), FNDX (Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF) and FNDF (Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in SCHB over the past 16 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of SCHB over the same span and SCHB's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in SCHB at the end of September 2010 would have grown to $78,362 by September 2026, less than the $88,503 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of SCHB, and VV finished highest, at $89,167.

## SCHB at a glance

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

- SCHB's deepest decline since it began trading in 2009 was 35.3%, from February to March 2020. It took five months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 16 full calendar years, SCHB's best was 2013, when it returned 31.8%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 19.4%. It lost money in three of those years.
- SCHB is 2.3% below its all-time high.

- Type: ETF, Broad Market (Asset Management)
- Trading since: November 3, 2009
- Assets: $44B
- Expense ratio: 0.03%
- Volatility (5 years): 17.3%; Sharpe ratio: 0.71
- Worst decline ever: −35.3%, from February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020; back at its high by August 17, 2020

| Period | SCHB total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −1.5% |
| 3 months | +1.8% |
| 6 months | +7.3% |
| year to date | +12.4% |
| 1 year | +15.2% |
| 3 years | +87.3% |
| 5 years | +71.6% |
| 10 years | +282% |

## SCHB against the whole market

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

### How does SCHB rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks SCHB on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- SCHB's 10-year return ranks in the top 12% of the 958 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with 10 years of history.

| Measure | SCHB | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +15.2% | 841 of 2,488 (top 34%) |
| 3-year return | +87.3% | 394 of 1,950 (top 21%) |
| 5-year return | +71.6% | 348 of 1,563 (top 23%) |
| 10-year return | +282% | 117 of 958 (top 13%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 17.3% | 892 of 1,563 (top 58%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.71 | 489 of 1,563 (top 32%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −35.3% | 364 of 951 (top 39%) |

### What has beaten SCHB 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).

- 44 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than SCHB over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,641 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half SCHB's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 16.9% a year at 11.1% volatility, 36% less than SCHB's 17.3%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.71 for SCHB.
- Among SCHB's popular alternatives, FNDX and PRF are in the region. FNDX earned 13.6% a year against 11.4% a year for SCHB, at 14.9% volatility, 14% less than SCHB's 17.3%.

### Is there a better investment than SCHB?

The table below lists investments that beat SCHB 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, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Among SCHB's popular alternatives, FNDX earned more than SCHB with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.6% a year at 14.9% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, IUS (US total market) and SIXA (US large-cap equity) earned more than SCHB with less volatility over the past 5 years. IUS returned 14.7% a year at 14.9% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 44 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than SCHB with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them EFV, FNDX and FNDF.

The 15 strongest of 44 investments that beat SCHB 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 SCHB | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SCHB: Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (this page) |  | +11.4% | 17.3% | 0.71 | −35.3% | +282% |  |  |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Dividend Equity | +16.9% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +15.9% | 15.1% | 1.06 | −41.3% | — | 0.89 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Large-Cap Value | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.66 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DIVB: iShares Core Dividend ETF | High Dividend Yield | +14.6% | 15.5% | 0.96 | −36.9% | — | 0.87 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| PRF: Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +13.0% | 15.0% | 0.90 | −38.1% | +270% | 0.92 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| IUS: Invesco RAFI Strategic US ETF | US Total Market | +14.7% | 14.9% | 1.00 | −34.7% | — | 0.94 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FDRR: Fidelity Dividend ETF for Rising Rates | US Dividend Equity | +12.7% | 15.0% | 0.88 | −36.5% | +264% | 0.93 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FYLD: Cambria Foreign Shareholder Yield ETF | International Dividend Equity | +13.1% | 16.0% | 0.86 | −44.6% | +203% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| USMC: Principal U.S. Mega-Cap ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +13.8% | 16.5% | 0.87 | −30.0% | — | 0.96 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| SIXA: ETC 6 Meridian Mega Cap Equity ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +12.9% | 12.7% | 1.02 | −18.4% | — | 0.83 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| VSLU: Applied Finance Valuation Large Cap ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +13.7% | 16.2% | 0.88 | −23.8% | — | 0.97 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| EQL: ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +13.4% | 14.5% | 0.94 | −34.2% | +385% | 0.91 | Higher return, lower volatility; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| FNDF: Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF | International Large-Cap Equity | +13.6% | 16.3% | 0.87 | −40.2% | +193% | 0.72 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| VYMI: Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF | International Dividend Equity | +13.2% | 14.8% | 0.92 | −40.0% | +174% | 0.67 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FDVV: Fidelity High Dividend ETF | High Dividend Yield | +13.4% | 14.6% | 0.94 | −40.2% | +255% | 0.90 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## SCHB against its popular alternatives

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

### How do SCHB'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.

- Six of the 15 popular alternatives, led by FNDX, PRF and VV, were both more rewarding and calmer than SCHB over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, SCHB returned 11.4% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (17.3% against 17.2%).

### Has SCHB consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Four of the 23 popular alternatives, led by FNDX, PRF and SPYM, outperformed SCHB in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- FNDX outperformed SCHB in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- SPYM, VOO and IVV earned more for the risk they took than SCHB (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 SCHB | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SCHB: Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (this page) | +15.2% | +87.3% | +71.6% | +282% |  |  | 0.71 |
| FNDX: Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF | +26.2% | +90.0% | +89.3% | +292% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.93 |
| PRF: Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF | +26.1% | +91.8% | +84.6% | +270% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.90 |
| [SPYM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spym): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | +15.7% | +88.8% | +80.9% | +320% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.79 |
| [VOO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/voo): Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | +15.7% | +88.8% | +80.8% | +319% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.79 |
| [VV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vv): Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF | +15.3% | +89.8% | +77.4% | +319% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| [IVV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ivv): iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | +15.7% | +88.8% | +80.8% | +319% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.79 |
| [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 |
| [SCHX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/schx): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF | +15.0% | +88.3% | +75.1% | +313% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| SPTM: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF | +15.6% | +86.6% | +77.1% | +306% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| AVUS: Avantis U.S. Equity ETF | +20.0% | +87.1% | +76.7% | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| [IWB](https://betterthanspy.com/research/iwb): iShares Russell 1000 ETF | +15.0% | +87.1% | +73.6% | +305% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.73 |
| [VTI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vti): Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | +15.3% | +87.3% | +71.5% | +298% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [ITOT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/itot): iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | +15.3% | +87.4% | +71.5% | +297% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| VTHR: Vanguard Russell 3000 ETF | +15.2% | +87.0% | +71.5% | +296% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| IWV: iShares Russell 3000 ETF | +15.1% | +86.5% | +70.9% | +293% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [RSP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rsp): Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | +16.8% | +68.3% | +49.6% | +214% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| [DFAC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dfac): Dimensional - US Core Equity 2 ETF | +18.1% | +82.9% | +70.6% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| EQAL: Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF | +15.3% | +63.4% | +36.7% | +172% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [BND](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bnd): Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | −1.4% | +16.3% | −1.0% | +14.3% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.00 |
| [VT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vt): Vanguard Total World Stock ETF | +14.9% | +82.6% | +62.0% | +220% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.68 |
| [VXF](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vxf): Vanguard Extended Market ETF | +11.3% | +76.3% | +27.0% | +192% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| [IWM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/iwm): iShares Russell 2000 ETF | +14.8% | +73.3% | +29.4% | +157% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| [VXUS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vxus): Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | +14.3% | +75.1% | +47.2% | +137% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |

### How did SCHB do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2010, along with where SCHB ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- SCHB finished ahead of the S&P 500 in three of its 16 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, VV came out ahead of SCHB most often, in 11 of the 16 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, SCHB finished in the top quarter in two of 16 years and in the bottom quarter in one. In 2025, it ranked 7 of 16.

| Year | SCHB | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +16.9% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +23.9% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +26.1% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −19.4% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +25.8% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +19.6% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +29.5% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −6.1% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +20.0% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +14.7% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How SCHB 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 SCHB's worst declines?

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

- In all five of SCHB's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 14 months, after SCHB fell 25.5% from January to October 2022.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −35.3% | February 19, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | August 17, 2020 | −33.7% | Covid crash |
| −25.5% | January 3, 2022 | October 12, 2022 | December 18, 2023 | −24.5% | 2022 bear market |
| −20.6% | September 20, 2018 | December 24, 2018 | April 26, 2019 | −19.4% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −20.1% | April 29, 2011 | October 3, 2011 | February 8, 2012 | −18.6% | 2011 euro debt crisis |
| −19.4% | February 19, 2025 | April 8, 2025 | June 27, 2025 | −18.8% |  |

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

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

- SCHB fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the eight crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when SCHB fell 14.5% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, BND held up best, falling less than SCHB in all eight crashes they both traded through.
- SCHB began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but eight of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was BND's 9.3%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | SCHB fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.6% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −19.0% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −14.5% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.2% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −20.5% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −35.3% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −25.3% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −4.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does SCHB 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.

- FNDX took just 98% of the S&P 500's losses, against 104% for SCHB, while still keeping 95% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, SCHB captured 99% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 104% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.03. Its share of the market's losses was slightly larger than its share of the gains.
- Five of the 13 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than SCHB's 0.95, led by VV, SCHX and SPTM.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SCHB: Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (this page) | 99.0% | 104% | 1.03 |
| FNDX: Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF | 95.0% | 98.0% | 0.97 |
| PRF: Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF | 93.0% | 98.0% | 0.97 |
| [VV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vv): Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF | 101% | 101% | 1.01 |
| [SCHX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/schx): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF | 100% | 101% | 1.01 |
| SPTM: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF | 99.0% | 101% | 1.01 |
| [VTI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vti): Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | 100% | 103% | 1.02 |
| [RSP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rsp): Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | 92.0% | 107% | 1.01 |
| EQAL: Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF | 90.0% | 113% | 1.04 |
| [BND](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bnd): Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 13.0% | 19.0% | 0.15 |
| [VT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vt): Vanguard Total World Stock ETF | 90.0% | 98.0% | 0.94 |
| [VXF](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vxf): Vanguard Extended Market ETF | 100% | 123% | 1.19 |
| [IWM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/iwm): iShares Russell 2000 ETF | 98.0% | 129% | 1.17 |
| [VXUS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vxus): Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | 76.0% | 91.0% | 0.82 |

### What diversifies SCHB?

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 SCHB into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 23% over the past 5 years while keeping its annual return (+12.6% for SCHB alone, +12.6% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, XLE, GLD and AMLP have moved largely independently of SCHB over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.46 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- PBR made money in two of the three calendar years in which SCHB lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with SCHB | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in SCHB's 3 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.29 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 1 of 3 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.16 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 0 of 3 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.46 | +114% | 18.9% | 0.90 | 1 of 3 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.17 | +66.7% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 3 |
| IHE: iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF | 0.48 | +83.2% | 16.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 3 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.26 | +57.5% | 12.4% | 0.80 | 1 of 3 |
| PPH: VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF | 0.49 | +72.9% | 15.8% | 0.78 | 2 of 3 |
| USO: United States Oil Fund, LP | 0.00 | +180% | 37.7% | 0.74 | 1 of 3 |

## Common questions

### What was SCHB's worst drawdown?

SCHB's deepest decline since it began trading in 2009 was 35.3%, from February to March 2020. It took five months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because SCHB launched in November 2009, that record does not include the dot-com bust or the 2008 financial crisis.

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

Over 16 full calendar years, SCHB's best year was 2013, when it returned 31.8%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -19.4%.

### Is there a better investment than SCHB?

Among SCHB's popular alternatives, FNDX earned more than SCHB with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.6% a year at 14.9% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, IUS (US total market) and SIXA (US large-cap equity) earned more than SCHB with less volatility over the past 5 years. IUS returned 14.7% a year at 14.9% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%.

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

No. SCHB's volatility over the past 5 years was 17.3%, 1.0 times the S&P 500's 17.5%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, SCHB's return lands within 17.3% 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 SCHB's Sharpe ratio?

SCHB's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.71, against 0.71 for the S&P 500, so SCHB 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 SCHB with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, SCHB's monthly returns had a correlation of 1.00 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They move almost in lockstep, so holding both adds little diversification. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against SCHB instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a SCHB holding.

### What are the best alternatives to SCHB?

Of the 23 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed SCHB in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: FNDX, PRF and SPYM.

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

SCHB finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of 16 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +16.9%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

SCHB fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in none of the eight major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when SCHB fell 14.5% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies SCHB?

These had a low correlation with SCHB over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, XLE (correlation 0.29), GLD (correlation 0.16) and AMLP (correlation 0.46); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.30), MCK (correlation 0.18) and MPC (correlation 0.26). 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/schb
- All research pages: https://betterthanspy.com/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against SCHB live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=SCHB