# How Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/bns
> 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 BNS alone. It places BNS (The Bank of Nova Scotia) 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 BNS stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: BNS's full trading record, from September 1999 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, BNS rose 22.4% against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. BNS sits 2.4% below its record high, and the S&P 500 is similarly close to its own.
- **Stock or market?:** BNS rose 6.9% over the past 3 months, 3.1 points ahead of the banks ETF EWC (iShares MSCI Canada ETF), which rose 3.8%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its bank peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: ITUB (Itaú Unibanco Holding) rose 16.7%, while BAC (Bank of America) fell 15.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** BNS has run far ahead of the market, rising 50.0% over the past year against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (162% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** BNS turned $10,000 into $28,700 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, BNS has typically fallen 1.2 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** BNS is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 0.76 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.77 with the total US market, more closely than 99% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** RY (Royal Bank of Canada) earned more than BNS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 12.9% a year at 19.9%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** CME (CME Group, capital markets) and ICE (Intercontinental Exchange, capital markets) fell less than BNS in each recent sell-off and kept up with it over the past decade.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 42 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BNS with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them KO (Coca-Cola), RY (Royal Bank of Canada) and GLD (SPDR Gold Shares).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in BNS over the past 27 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of BNS over the same span and BNS's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in BNS at the end of September 1999 would have grown to $841,389 by September 2026, more than the $95,018 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of BNS, and NVDA finished highest, at $62,517,102.

## BNS 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.

- BNS's deepest decline since it began trading in 1999 was 63.8%, from November 2007 to February 2009. It took 14 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 26 full calendar years, BNS's best was 2002, when it returned 232%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 44.4%. It lost money in six of those years.
- BNS is 2.4% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Banks - Diversified)
- Trading since: September 13, 1999
- Market value: $112B
- Volatility (5 years): 19.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.71
- Worst decline ever: −63.8%, from November 6, 2007 to February 23, 2009; back at its high by April 6, 2010

| Period | BNS total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −2.3% |
| 3 months | +6.9% |
| 6 months | +22.4% |
| year to date | +28.9% |
| 1 year | +50.0% |
| 3 years | +162% |
| 5 years | +83.1% |
| 10 years | +187% |

## BNS against the whole market

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

### How does BNS rank among all stocks?

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

- BNS is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 3% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | BNS | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +50.0% | 553 of 3,287 (top 17%) |
| 3-year return | +162% | 531 of 3,017 (top 18%) |
| 5-year return | +83.1% | 797 of 2,893 (top 28%) |
| 10-year return | +187% | 918 of 2,202 (top 42%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 19.9% | 88 of 2,893 (top 4%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.71 | 443 of 2,893 (top 16%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −46.9% | 348 of 2,187 (top 16%) |

### What has beaten BNS 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).

- Six stocks and 36 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than BNS 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 BNS's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 44% less than BNS's 19.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.71 for BNS. MPLX earned the most, 23.5% a year, while still swinging less than BNS (18.8% against 19.9%).
- Among BNS's popular alternatives, RY is in the region. RY earned 17.3% a year against 12.9% a year for BNS, at 18.2% volatility, 9% less than BNS's 19.9%.

### Is there a better investment than BNS?

The table below lists investments that beat BNS 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 BNS's popular alternatives, RY earned more than BNS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 12.9% a year at 19.9%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CME (capital markets) and ICE (capital markets) fell less than BNS in each recent sell-off and kept up with it over the past decade.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 42 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BNS with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them KO, RY and GLD.

The 15 strongest of 42 investments that beat BNS 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 BNS | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BNS: The Bank of Nova Scotia (this page) |  | +12.9% | 19.9% | 0.71 | −46.9% | +187% |  |  |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Food & Beverages | +14.7% | 16.8% | 0.91 | −37.0% | +204% | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +15.9% | 18.4% | 0.90 | −39.5% | +286% | 0.75 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.7% | 18.9% | 0.96 | −26.4% | +213% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| ATO: Atmos Energy Corporation | Gas Utilities | +14.9% | 18.4% | 0.85 | −32.9% | +194% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | US Dividend Equity | +13.9% | 14.4% | 0.98 | −41.4% | +199% | 0.63 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.64 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.80 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [DYNF](https://easycompare.io/research/dynf): iShares U.S. Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF | US Multifactor Equity | +14.7% | 17.5% | 0.87 | −34.7% | — | 0.74 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Equity | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.75 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| AVLV: Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +14.0% | 16.9% | 0.86 | −19.5% | — | 0.75 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.1% | 15.1% | 1.07 | −41.3% | — | 0.75 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [RSG](https://easycompare.io/research/rsg): Republic Services, Inc. | Environmental Services | +13.9% | 18.5% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +446% | 0.24 | Higher return, lower volatility; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | Global Equity | +15.7% | 17.2% | 0.94 | −31.4% | +361% | 0.72 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| USMC: Principal U.S. Mega-Cap ETF | Broad Market | +14.1% | 16.4% | 0.89 | −30.0% | — | 0.72 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| GCOW: Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF | International | +14.1% | 13.6% | 1.04 | −37.6% | +168% | 0.64 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## BNS against its popular alternatives

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

### How do BNS'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.

- Only RY was both more rewarding and calmer than BNS over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, BNS returned 12.8% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (19.9% against 17.1%).

### Has BNS consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Only one of the 21 popular alternatives, TD, outperformed BNS in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- RY, TD and JPM earned more for the risk they took than BNS (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.
- RY outperformed BNS over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so BNS has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of BNS | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BNS: The Bank of Nova Scotia (this page) | +50.0% | +162% | +83.1% | +187% |  |  | 0.71 |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | +57.5% | +141% | +109% | +310% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.84 |
| [MFC](https://easycompare.io/research/mfc): Manulife Financial Corporation | +44.8% | +189% | +177% | +373% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.97 |
| [BBVA](https://easycompare.io/research/bbva): Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. | +35.2% | +281% | +413% | +542% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.16 |
| [CM](https://easycompare.io/research/cm): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | +44.4% | +261% | +141% | +395% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.93 |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | +39.2% | +173% | +122% | +352% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.97 |
| [SAN](https://easycompare.io/research/san): Banco Santander, S.A. | +35.9% | +305% | +295% | +332% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.99 |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | +26.0% | +238% | +102% | +234% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | +13.0% | +150% | +122% | +537% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| [BMO](https://easycompare.io/research/bmo): Bank of Montreal | +37.6% | +146% | +89.4% | +295% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [ITUB](https://easycompare.io/research/itub): Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. | +46.3% | +147% | +221% | +190% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.86 |
| [SLF](https://easycompare.io/research/slf): Sun Life Financial Inc. | +35.5% | +96.3% | +74.1% | +255% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [BN](https://easycompare.io/research/bn): Brookfield Corporation | −16.8% | +85.9% | +20.8% | +226% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| [BAC](https://easycompare.io/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | −0.6% | +107% | +21.6% | +282% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| BCH: Banco de Chile | +25.2% | +138% | +208% | +180% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.94 |
| BSAC: Banco Santander-Chile | +24.0% | +124% | +144% | +154% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| [BBD](https://easycompare.io/research/bbd): Banco Bradesco S.A. | +31.6% | +90.7% | +69.3% | +35.5% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| [USB](https://easycompare.io/research/usb): U.S. Bancorp | +30.3% | +117% | +17.6% | +94.6% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| EWW: iShares MSCI Mexico ETF | +18.4% | +57.6% | +77.4% | +89.7% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.62 |
| [BAM](https://easycompare.io/research/bam): Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. | −12.5% | +67.9% | — | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| BNT: Brookfield Wealth Solutions Ltd. | −16.7% | +85.8% | +5.9% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| [BSBR](https://easycompare.io/research/bsbr): Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. | +6.6% | +18.6% | −2.6% | −1.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.16 |

### How did BNS do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2000, along with where BNS ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- BNS finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 14 of its 26 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, RY came out ahead of BNS most often, in 17 of the 26 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, BNS finished in the top quarter in three of 26 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 13 of 22.

| Year | BNS | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +45.1% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +17.5% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +6.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −28.8% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +40.6% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +1.7% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +17.5% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −19.2% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +20.5% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +43.7% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How BNS 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 BNS's worst declines?

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

- In all five of BNS's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: BNS fell 44.0% from July 2014 to January 2016, while the S&P 500 slipped only 3.2%.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 22 months, after BNS fell 40.5% from March 2022 to October 2023.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −63.8% | November 6, 2007 | February 23, 2009 | April 6, 2010 | −49.5% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −46.9% | January 31, 2018 | March 23, 2020 | February 22, 2021 | −17.4% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −44.0% | July 28, 2014 | January 20, 2016 | February 10, 2017 | −3.2% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −40.5% | March 22, 2022 | October 27, 2023 | August 26, 2025 | −6.4% | 2022 bear market |
| −24.1% | April 1, 2011 | November 25, 2011 | December 18, 2012 | −11.7% | 2011 euro debt crisis |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, RY held up best, falling less than BNS in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- BNS fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when BNS fell 24.3% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

| Crash | Dates | BNS fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −23.6% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −63.8% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | 0.0% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −19.8% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −24.3% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.1% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −17.7% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −43.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −35.4% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −4.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does BNS 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.

- 13 of the 19 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than BNS's 0.81, led by BCH, BBVA and ITUB.
- TD took just 80% of the S&P 500's losses, against 120% for BNS, while still keeping 89% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, BNS captured 97% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 120% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.05. Its share of the market's losses was larger than its share of the gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BNS: The Bank of Nova Scotia (this page) | 97.0% | 120% | 1.05 |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | 89.0% | 80.0% | 0.88 |
| [MFC](https://easycompare.io/research/mfc): Manulife Financial Corporation | 110% | 110% | 1.10 |
| [BBVA](https://easycompare.io/research/bbva): Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. | 121% | 97.0% | 1.11 |
| [CM](https://easycompare.io/research/cm): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | 108% | 106% | 1.07 |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | 97.0% | 88.0% | 0.88 |
| [SAN](https://easycompare.io/research/san): Banco Santander, S.A. | 101% | 92.0% | 1.02 |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | 131% | 165% | 1.49 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 117% | 103% | 1.09 |
| [BMO](https://easycompare.io/research/bmo): Bank of Montreal | 104% | 112% | 1.12 |
| [ITUB](https://easycompare.io/research/itub): Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. | 66.0% | 58.0% | 0.65 |
| [SLF](https://easycompare.io/research/slf): Sun Life Financial Inc. | 87.0% | 85.0% | 0.96 |
| [BN](https://easycompare.io/research/bn): Brookfield Corporation | 125% | 162% | 1.42 |
| [BAC](https://easycompare.io/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | 127% | 146% | 1.36 |
| BCH: Banco de Chile | 45.0% | 19.0% | 0.36 |
| BSAC: Banco Santander-Chile | 66.0% | 65.0% | 0.66 |
| [BBD](https://easycompare.io/research/bbd): Banco Bradesco S.A. | 62.0% | 103% | 0.72 |
| [USB](https://easycompare.io/research/usb): U.S. Bancorp | 89.0% | 130% | 1.05 |
| EWW: iShares MSCI Mexico ETF | 71.0% | 96.0% | 0.88 |
| [BSBR](https://easycompare.io/research/bsbr): Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. | 56.0% | 102% | 0.74 |

### What diversifies BNS?

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 BNS into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 22% over the past 5 years while keeping its annual return (+14.3% for BNS alone, +14.2% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, MLPX and GLD have moved largely independently of BNS over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.47 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- CAH made money in four of the six calendar years in which BNS lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with BNS | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in BNS's 6 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.41 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 6 |
| MLPX: Global X - MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | 0.47 | +135% | 19.7% | 0.97 | 2 of 6 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.23 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 2 of 6 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.29 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 2 of 6 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.38 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 3 of 6 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.26 | +59.7% | 12.4% | 0.82 | 1 of 6 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.29 | +66.4% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 2 of 6 |
| GDX: VanEck Gold Miners ETF | 0.35 | +181% | 38.2% | 0.73 | 0 of 6 |

## Common questions

### What was BNS's worst drawdown?

BNS's deepest decline since it began trading in 1999 was 63.8%, from November 2007 to February 2009. It took 14 months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 26 full calendar years, BNS's best year was 2002, when it returned 232%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -44.4%.

### Is there a better investment than BNS?

Among BNS's popular alternatives, RY earned more than BNS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 12.9% a year at 19.9%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CME (capital markets) and ICE (capital markets) fell less than BNS in each recent sell-off and kept up with it over the past decade.

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

Yes. BNS's volatility over the past 5 years was 19.9%, 1.2 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, BNS's return lands within 19.9% 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 BNS's Sharpe ratio?

BNS's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.71, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so BNS 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 BNS with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, BNS's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.76 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 BNS instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a BNS holding.

### What are the best alternatives to BNS?

Of the 21 popular alternatives we compared, one outperformed BNS in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: TD.

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

BNS finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 14 of 26 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +45.1%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

BNS fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when BNS fell 24.3% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies BNS?

These had a low correlation with BNS over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.41), MLPX (correlation 0.47) and GLD (correlation 0.23); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.26), CLS (correlation 0.30) and FIX (correlation 0.43). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/td)
- [Manulife Financial (MFC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/mfc)
- [Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bbva)
- [Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cm)
- [Royal Bank of Canada (RY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ry)
- [Banco Santander (SAN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/san)
- [Citigroup (C) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/c)
- [JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm)
- [Bank of Montreal (BMO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bmo)
- [Itaú Unibanco Holding (ITUB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/itub)
- [Sun Life Financial (SLF) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/slf)
- [Brookfield (BN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bn)

## Explore further

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