# How Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/aem
> Data as of October 20, 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 AEM alone. It places AEM (Agnico Eagle Mines Limited) 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 AEM stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: AEM's full trading record, from October 1986 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 3 months, AEM rose 36.9% against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100. On the flip side, AEM is 25.8% below its high, bear-market territory, while the S&P 500 sits 1.3% below a record.
- **Stock or market?:** More than an industry move: AEM rose 36.9% over the past 3 months, against 21.7% for the gold mining ETF GDX (VanEck Gold Miners ETF). The S&P 500 rose 3.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** AEM has trailed the market, rising 5.3% over the past year against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. That said, it finished ahead of the S&P 500 in both 2024 and 2025.
- **Long term:** AEM turned $10,000 into $45,200 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. AEM's 10-year return of 352% puts it ahead of 78% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, AEM has typically fallen 1.2 times as far as the S&P 500. The 2022 bear market took 42.0% off AEM, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than AGI (Alamos Gold, 27.7%) but less than NEM (Newmont, 51.8%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, AEM has a correlation of 0.25 over 5 years, less closely than 79% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is a real diversifier. Over 10 years AEM kept more of the market's gains than of its losses: 77% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 57% of its losses in falling ones, with a beta of 0.70.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** IAG (Iamgold) was ahead of AEM in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (60.9% volatility against 38.4%).
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** MOG-A (Moog, aerospace & defense) and ESLT (Elbit Systems, aerospace & defense) earned more than AEM with less volatility over the past 5 years. MOG-A returned 36.6% a year at 32.0% volatility, against 29.5% a year at 38.4%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 39 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than AEM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them LLY (Eli Lilly and Company), CAT (Caterpillar) and HSBC.

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

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

- $10,000 invested in AEM at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $246,326 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 AEM, and ESLT finished highest, at $1,652,837.

## AEM 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.

- AEM is still 25.8% below its all-time high.
- AEM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 90.5%, from April 1987 to August 1998. It took about eight years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, AEM's best was 2025, when it returned 120%, and its worst was 1997, when it lost 61.3%. It lost money in ten of those years.

- Type: Stock, Materials (Gold)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $94B
- Volatility (5 years): 38.4%; Sharpe ratio: 0.87
- Worst decline ever: −90.5%, from April 14, 1987 to August 31, 1998; back at its high by March 30, 2006

| Period | AEM total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −5.7% |
| 3 months | +36.9% |
| 6 months | −13.5% |
| year to date | +10.0% |
| 1 year | +5.3% |
| 3 years | +293% |
| 5 years | +264% |
| 10 years | +352% |

## AEM against the whole market

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

### How does AEM rank among all stocks?

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

- AEM's 5-year return ranks in the top 7% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million with 5 years of history.

| Measure | AEM | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +5.3% | 1,769 of 3,287 (top 54%) |
| 3-year return | +293% | 232 of 3,017 (top 8%) |
| 5-year return | +264% | 206 of 2,893 (top 8%) |
| 10-year return | +352% | 478 of 2,202 (top 22%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 38.4% | 1,361 of 2,893 (top 48%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.87 | 207 of 2,893 (top 8%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −54.2% | 628 of 2,187 (top 29%) |

### What has beaten AEM 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).

- 39 stocks worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than AEM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half AEM's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 36% less than AEM's 38.4%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.87 for AEM. MPC earned the most, 51.2% a year, while still swinging less than AEM (33.4% against 38.4%).
- None of AEM's popular alternatives made it, but HWM (aerospace & defense) did: 47.3% a year at 32.5% volatility, 15% less than AEM's 38.4%.

### Is there a better investment than AEM?

The table below lists investments that beat AEM 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 AEM's popular alternatives, IAG was ahead of AEM in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (60.9% volatility against 38.4%).
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MOG-A (aerospace & defense) and ESLT (aerospace & defense) earned more than AEM with less volatility over the past 5 years. MOG-A returned 36.6% a year at 32.0% volatility, against 29.5% a year at 38.4%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 39 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than AEM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them LLY, CAT and HSBC.

The 15 strongest of 39 investments that beat AEM over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with AEM | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AEM: Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (this page) |  | +29.5% | 38.4% | 0.87 | −54.2% | +352% |  |  |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +40.7% | 32.8% | 1.21 | −34.5% | +1,807% | 0.08 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | Industrial Machinery | +31.1% | 31.9% | 1.01 | −43.4% | +936% | 0.16 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | Health Care Distribution | +38.7% | 25.0% | 1.44 | −38.1% | +586% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [APH](https://easycompare.io/research/aph): Amphenol Corporation | Electronic Components | +33.8% | 32.2% | 1.07 | −37.5% | +965% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [SMFG](https://easycompare.io/research/smfg): Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.7% | 29.4% | 1.14 | −47.6% | +474% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPC](https://easycompare.io/research/mpc): Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Oil & Gas | +51.2% | 33.4% | 1.41 | −79.7% | +1,387% | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| NHC: National HealthCare Corporation | Medical - Care Facilities | +32.0% | 28.5% | 1.12 | −35.3% | +394% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [MUFG](https://easycompare.io/research/mufg): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.2% | 29.4% | 1.13 | −54.9% | +483% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [SAN](https://easycompare.io/research/san): Banco Santander, S.A. | Banks | +31.7% | 33.9% | 0.99 | −73.8% | +332% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [BBVA](https://easycompare.io/research/bbva): Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. | Banks | +38.7% | 33.3% | 1.16 | −69.6% | +542% | 0.24 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [IBKR](https://easycompare.io/research/ibkr): Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. | Investment Banking & Brokerage | +35.4% | 35.4% | 1.04 | −55.1% | +935% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [PSX](https://easycompare.io/research/psx): Phillips 66 | Oil & Gas | +33.2% | 32.9% | 1.04 | −64.2% | +430% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [TRGP](https://easycompare.io/research/trgp): Targa Resources Corp. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +41.8% | 31.7% | 1.27 | −90.8% | +829% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [IMO](https://easycompare.io/research/imo): Imperial Oil Limited | Integrated Oil & Gas | +34.3% | 32.0% | 1.09 | −77.1% | +430% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## AEM against its popular alternatives

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

### How do AEM's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- None of the 21 popular alternatives earned more than AEM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Over the past 5 years, AEM returned 29.5% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (38.4% against 17.1%).

### Has AEM consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- None of the 21 popular alternatives outperformed AEM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was AU.
- GLD earned more for the risk it took than AEM (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.
- AU outperformed AEM over all three long-term periods but in only one of the five short-term ones, so AEM has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of AEM | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AEM: Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (this page) | +5.3% | +293% | +264% | +352% |  |  | 0.87 |
| [AU](https://easycompare.io/research/au): AngloGold Ashanti Plc | +26.2% | +416% | +445% | +681% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.93 |
| KGC: Kinross Gold Corporation | −8.3% | +356% | +311% | +572% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.85 |
| IAG: Iamgold Corporation | +29.9% | +637% | +517% | +343% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| HMY: Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited | −13.2% | +265% | +366% | +504% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.82 |
| GFI: Gold Fields Limited | −13.0% | +187% | +356% | +1,008% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.84 |
| [WPM](https://easycompare.io/research/wpm): Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. | +25.2% | +212% | +236% | +510% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.85 |
| GOLD: Gold.com, Inc. | +39.4% | +45.4% | +35.5% | +603% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.37 |
| AGI: Alamos Gold Inc. | −9.3% | +154% | +310% | +294% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.88 |
| CDE: Coeur Mining, Inc. | −31.3% | +480% | +131% | +33.9% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| [NEM](https://easycompare.io/research/nem): Newmont Corporation | +24.3% | +219% | +135% | +304% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| BTG: B2Gold Corp. | −7.3% | +72.8% | +49.0% | +139% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.40 |
| [FNV](https://easycompare.io/research/fnv): Franco-Nevada Corporation | +18.4% | +78.8% | +79.9% | +303% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.53 |
| RGLD: Royal Gold, Inc. | +24.0% | +124% | +155% | +282% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| SSRM: SSR Mining Inc. | +28.2% | +123% | +103% | +191% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| EGO: Eldorado Gold Corporation | +23.1% | +247% | +271% | +89.1% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.79 |
| PAAS: Pan American Silver Corp. | +13.9% | +205% | +89.0% | +202% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.51 |
| SIL: Global X - Silver Miners ETF | +9.3% | +240% | +118% | +126% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | −6.3% | +106% | +126% | +213% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.96 |
| SA: Seabridge Gold Inc. | −2.9% | +123% | +43.5% | +127% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.40 |
| NG: NovaGold Resources Inc. | −36.0% | +69.4% | −15.3% | +41.3% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.25 |
| EQX: Equinox Gold Corp. | −9.0% | +144% | +42.2% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |

### How did AEM do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, AEM finished in the top quarter in 11 of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in four. In 2025, it ranked 15 of 22.
- AEM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 16 of its 29 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, AGI came out ahead of AEM most often, in 13 of the 22 years both traded.

| Year | AEM | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +120% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +46.0% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +9.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +1.1% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | −22.8% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +16.2% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +54.2% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −11.5% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +10.5% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +61.2% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How AEM 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 AEM's worst declines?

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

- In all four of AEM's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: AEM fell 74.0% from December 2010 to August 2015, while the S&P 500 rose 88.5%.
- The slowest recovery came after AEM fell 90.5% from April 1987 to August 1998; it did not regain that peak until March 2006, eight years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −90.5% | April 14, 1987 | August 31, 1998 | March 30, 2006 | — |  |
| −74.0% | December 6, 2010 | August 5, 2015 | July 31, 2020 | +88.5% | 2011 euro debt crisis |
| −72.9% | March 14, 2008 | October 27, 2008 | November 4, 2010 | −34.2% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −54.2% | September 14, 2020 | September 26, 2022 | August 14, 2024 | +11.3% | 2022 bear market |
| −45.8% | March 2, 2026 | July 20, 2026 | not yet | +8.7% |  |

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

This section measures how far AEM, 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 AEM in seven of the nine crashes they both traded through.
- AEM fell less than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the late-2018 sell-off, when AEM fell 11.6% and the S&P 500 fell 19.3%.

| Crash | Dates | AEM fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −42.4% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −72.9% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.4% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −18.9% | −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 | −6.4% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −11.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −31.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −42.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | 0.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does AEM 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, AEM captured 77% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 57% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.70. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- 11 of the 20 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than AEM's 1.34, led by GOLD, GLD and SSRM.
- GOLD took just 2% of the S&P 500's losses, against 57% for AEM, while still keeping 70% of its gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AEM: Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (this page) | 77.0% | 57.0% | 0.70 |
| [AU](https://easycompare.io/research/au): AngloGold Ashanti Plc | 88.0% | 40.0% | 0.61 |
| KGC: Kinross Gold Corporation | 100% | 70.0% | 0.83 |
| IAG: Iamgold Corporation | 120% | 131% | 1.17 |
| HMY: Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited | 89.0% | 57.0% | 1.07 |
| GFI: Gold Fields Limited | 102% | 46.0% | 0.69 |
| [WPM](https://easycompare.io/research/wpm): Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. | 78.0% | 37.0% | 0.48 |
| GOLD: Gold.com, Inc. | 70.0% | 2.0% | 0.10 |
| AGI: Alamos Gold Inc. | 76.0% | 52.0% | 0.80 |
| CDE: Coeur Mining, Inc. | 126% | 213% | 1.56 |
| [NEM](https://easycompare.io/research/nem): Newmont Corporation | 68.0% | 45.0% | 0.39 |
| BTG: B2Gold Corp. | 63.0% | 61.0% | 0.78 |
| [FNV](https://easycompare.io/research/fnv): Franco-Nevada Corporation | 69.0% | 47.0% | 0.49 |
| RGLD: Royal Gold, Inc. | 69.0% | 54.0% | 0.56 |
| SSRM: SSR Mining Inc. | 39.0% | 5.0% | 0.46 |
| EGO: Eldorado Gold Corporation | 82.0% | 115% | 1.06 |
| PAAS: Pan American Silver Corp. | 95.0% | 111% | 1.00 |
| SIL: Global X - Silver Miners ETF | 81.0% | 105% | 0.88 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 40.0% | 3.0% | 0.14 |
| SA: Seabridge Gold Inc. | 88.0% | 110% | 0.91 |
| NG: NovaGold Resources Inc. | 51.0% | 91.0% | 0.80 |

### What diversifies AEM?

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 AEM into SPMO would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years for a small cut in its annual return (+31.7% for AEM alone, +31.3% for the mix).
- MCK made money in eight of the ten calendar years in which AEM lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of AEM over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.46 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with AEM | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in AEM's 10 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.46 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 10 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.26 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 10 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.41 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 10 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.46 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 3 of 10 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.05 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 5 of 10 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.38 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 3 of 10 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.11 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 10 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.24 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 5 of 10 |

## Common questions

### What was AEM's worst drawdown?

AEM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 90.5%, from April 1987 to August 1998. It took about eight years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, AEM's best year was 2025, when it returned 120%. Its worst was 1997, with a return of -61.3%.

### Is there a better investment than AEM?

Among AEM's popular alternatives, IAG was ahead of AEM in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (60.9% volatility against 38.4%). Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MOG-A (aerospace & defense) and ESLT (aerospace & defense) earned more than AEM with less volatility over the past 5 years. MOG-A returned 36.6% a year at 32.0% volatility, against 29.5% a year at 38.4%.

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

Yes. AEM's volatility over the past 5 years was 38.4%, 2.2 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, AEM's return lands within 38.4% 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 AEM's Sharpe ratio?

AEM's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.87, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so AEM 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 AEM with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, AEM's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.25 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 AEM instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a AEM holding.

### What are the best alternatives to AEM?

None of the 21 popular alternatives we compared outperformed AEM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about AEM's strength than about its alternatives.

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

AEM finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 16 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +120%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

AEM fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in five of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the late-2018 sell-off, when AEM fell 11.6% and the S&P 500 fell 19.3%.

### What diversifies AEM?

These had a low correlation with AEM over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.46), DXJ (correlation 0.26) and EMLP (correlation 0.41); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.14), CLS (correlation -0.08) and FIX (correlation 0.02). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/aem
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against AEM live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=AEM&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research