# How Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/brk-b
> 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 BRK-B alone. It places BRK-B (Berkshire Hathaway Inc.) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where BRK-B stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: BRK-B's full trading record, from May 1996 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** BRK-B has outpaced the market, rising 9.9% over the past 3 months against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Both BRK-B and the S&P 500 are within a few percent of a record high.
- **Stock or market?:** BRK-B held up far better than its industry: it rose 9.9% over the past 3 months while the insurance ETF KIE (State Street SPDR S&P Insurance ETF) fell 1.2%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. BRK-B rose 7.5% last month as the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 3.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, BRK-B rose 9.3% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (60.7% against 89.3%). BRK-B led its insurance peers in 2023, then fell behind CB (Chubb) and TRV (Travelers Companies) in 2025.
- **Long term:** BRK-B turned $10,000 into $37,400 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. On the flip side, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: BRK-B rose 87.8% against 81.7% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** BRK-B fell less than the S&P 500 in five of seven sell-offs, but the 2022 bear market broke the pattern: it fell 26.6%, more than the S&P 500's 24.5%.
- **Diversification:** BRK-B is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.50 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.50 with the total US market, more closely than 73% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Over 10 years, BRK-B's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.74: 78% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 69% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** MFC (Manulife Financial, life insurance) and AIZ (Assurant, property & casualty insurance) were ahead of BRK-B in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (24.0% and 25.3% volatility against 17.1%).
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only four of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BRK-B with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them PVAL (Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF), LVHI (Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF) and EMLP (First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund).

## How much would $10,000 in BRK-B have grown?

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

- $10,000 invested in BRK-B at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $166,530 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 BRK-B, and WRB finished highest, at $427,501.

## BRK-B 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.

- BRK-B's deepest decline since it began trading in 1996 was 53.9%, from December 2007 to March 2009. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- BRK-B is trading within 1% of its all-time high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, BRK-B's best was 1998, when it returned 52.7%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 32.1%. It lost money in six of those years.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Insurance - Diversified)
- Trading since: May 9, 1996
- Market value: $1.2T
- Volatility (5 years): 17.1%; Sharpe ratio: 0.82
- Worst decline ever: −53.9%, from December 10, 2007 to March 5, 2009; back at its high by February 15, 2013

| Period | BRK-B total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +7.5% |
| 3 months | +9.9% |
| 6 months | +14.3% |
| year to date | +8.6% |
| 1 year | +9.3% |
| 3 years | +60.7% |
| 5 years | +87.8% |
| 10 years | +274% |

## BRK-B against the whole market

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

### How does BRK-B rank among all stocks?

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

- BRK-B's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 1% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | BRK-B | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +9.3% | 1,610 of 3,287 (top 49%) |
| 3-year return | +60.7% | 1,385 of 3,017 (top 46%) |
| 5-year return | +87.8% | 757 of 2,893 (top 27%) |
| 10-year return | +274% | 653 of 2,202 (top 30%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 17.1% | 37 of 2,893 (top 2%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.82 | 253 of 2,893 (top 9%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −29.6% | 17 of 2,187 (top 1%) |

### What has beaten BRK-B 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).

- Four ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than BRK-B over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half BRK-B's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 35% less than BRK-B's 17.1%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.82 for BRK-B.

### Is there a better investment than BRK-B?

The table below lists investments that beat BRK-B 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 BRK-B's popular alternatives, TRV, ALL and AFG were ahead of BRK-B in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (22.3%, 26.2% and 22.6% volatility against 17.1%).
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MFC (life insurance) and AIZ (property & casualty insurance) were ahead of BRK-B in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (24.0% and 25.3% volatility against 17.1%).
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only four of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BRK-B with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them PVAL, LVHI and EMLP.

The 4 strongest of 4 investments that beat BRK-B 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 BRK-B | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRK-B: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (this page) |  | +13.4% | 17.1% | 0.82 | −29.6% | +274% |  |  |
| IUS: Invesco RAFI Strategic US ETF | Broad Market | +14.7% | 14.9% | 1.00 | −34.7% | — | 0.61 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.1% | 15.1% | 1.07 | −41.3% | — | 0.63 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | Energy Infrastructure | +14.9% | 14.5% | 1.04 | −43.6% | +150% | 0.64 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## BRK-B against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against BRK-B, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do BRK-B's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

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

- None of the 22 popular alternatives earned more than BRK-B over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 11 of the 22 popular alternatives earned less than BRK-B over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, BRK-B returned 13.4% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (17.1% against 17.1%).

### Has BRK-B consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares BRK-B 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 ALL, TRV and AFG, outperformed BRK-B in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- JPM outperformed BRK-B over all three long-term periods but in only one of the five short-term ones, so BRK-B has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of BRK-B | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRK-B: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (this page) | +9.3% | +60.7% | +87.8% | +274% |  |  | 0.82 |
| [ALL](https://easycompare.io/research/all): The Allstate Corporation | +31.5% | +116% | +119% | +356% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.73 |
| [TRV](https://easycompare.io/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | +51.5% | +158% | +174% | +347% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 1.02 |
| AFG: American Financial Group, Inc. | +20.4% | +66.9% | +59.7% | +321% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.53 |
| RNR: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. | +43.3% | +66.5% | +149% | +215% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.80 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | +13.0% | +150% | +122% | +537% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| HIG: The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. | +12.1% | +105% | +106% | +294% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| WRB: W. R. Berkley Corporation | +2.3% | +87.3% | +138% | +443% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.87 |
| [NSC](https://easycompare.io/research/nsc): Norfolk Southern Corporation | +13.8% | +72.0% | +29.5% | +328% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| [SPY](https://easycompare.io/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.3% | +81.7% | +321% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.79 |
| [CB](https://easycompare.io/research/cb): Chubb Limited | +35.0% | +78.9% | +107% | +248% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.82 |
| ACGL: Arch Capital Group Ltd. | +16.5% | +28.7% | +150% | +309% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.87 |
| L: Loews Corporation | +12.5% | +78.4% | +94.9% | +180% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.80 |
| AXS: AXIS Capital Holdings Limited | +11.1% | +90.4% | +116% | +137% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| [PGR](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | +7.7% | +56.8% | +162% | +816% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.89 |
| [UNP](https://easycompare.io/research/unp): Union Pacific Corporation | +29.2% | +45.4% | +41.2% | +295% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| CINF: Cincinnati Financial Corporation | +13.6% | +87.6% | +62.7% | +203% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.51 |
| [NEE](https://easycompare.io/research/nee): NextEra Energy, Inc. | −4.3% | +65.9% | +7.5% | +228% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| CNA: CNA Financial Corporation | +15.2% | +56.4% | +55.2% | +183% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| EG: Everest Group, Ltd. | +14.8% | +6.0% | +57.0% | +155% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.48 |
| RLI: RLI Corp. | +14.2% | +8.4% | +47.7% | +206% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [AIG](https://easycompare.io/research/aig): American International Group, Inc. | +8.0% | +47.1% | +54.1% | +75.5% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| [BRK-A](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-a): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | +9.3% | +58.4% | +87.2% | +273% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.82 |
| MKL: Markel Corporation | −1.2% | +29.8% | +42.3% | +110% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.43 |

### How did BRK-B do year by year?

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

- BRK-B finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 15 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, UNP came out ahead of BRK-B most often, in 19 of the 29 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, BRK-B finished in the top quarter in four of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 14 of 23.

| Year | BRK-B | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +10.9% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +27.1% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +15.5% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +3.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +28.9% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +2.4% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +10.9% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +3.0% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +21.6% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +23.4% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How BRK-B 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 BRK-B's worst declines?

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

- In four of BRK-B's five worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: BRK-B fell 49.4% from June 1998 to March 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 29.6%.
- The slowest recovery came after BRK-B fell 53.9% from December 2007 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until February 2013, four years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −53.9% | December 10, 2007 | March 5, 2009 | February 15, 2013 | −53.4% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −49.4% | June 19, 1998 | March 10, 2000 | November 14, 2003 | +29.6% | dot-com bust |
| −29.6% | January 17, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | November 16, 2020 | −32.4% | Covid crash |
| −26.6% | March 28, 2022 | October 12, 2022 | August 7, 2023 | −21.1% | 2022 bear market |
| −18.7% | December 18, 2014 | January 25, 2016 | November 10, 2016 | −6.9% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |

### How did BRK-B do in stock market crashes?

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

- BRK-B fell less than the S&P 500 in seven of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when BRK-B fell 23.2% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, NEE held up best, falling less than BRK-B in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | BRK-B fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −23.3% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −53.9% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.2% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −14.3% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −13.5% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −8.5% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −16.1% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −29.3% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −26.6% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.7% | −3.4% |

### How closely does BRK-B 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, BRK-B captured 78% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 69% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.74. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- PGR took just -5% of the S&P 500's losses, against 69% for BRK-B, while still keeping 72% of its gains.
- Ten of the 21 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than BRK-B's 1.12, led by WRB, RNR and ALL.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRK-B: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (this page) | 78.0% | 69.0% | 0.74 |
| [ALL](https://easycompare.io/research/all): The Allstate Corporation | 68.0% | 41.0% | 0.49 |
| [TRV](https://easycompare.io/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | 70.0% | 48.0% | 0.59 |
| AFG: American Financial Group, Inc. | 84.0% | 75.0% | 0.78 |
| RNR: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. | 46.0% | 20.0% | 0.31 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 117% | 103% | 1.09 |
| HIG: The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. | 83.0% | 77.0% | 0.78 |
| WRB: W. R. Berkley Corporation | 68.0% | 26.0% | 0.55 |
| [NSC](https://easycompare.io/research/nsc): Norfolk Southern Corporation | 123% | 147% | 1.30 |
| [CB](https://easycompare.io/research/cb): Chubb Limited | 63.0% | 48.0% | 0.54 |
| ACGL: Arch Capital Group Ltd. | 74.0% | 57.0% | 0.57 |
| L: Loews Corporation | 66.0% | 64.0% | 0.71 |
| AXS: AXIS Capital Holdings Limited | 55.0% | 53.0% | 0.67 |
| [PGR](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | 72.0% | −5.0% | 0.36 |
| [UNP](https://easycompare.io/research/unp): Union Pacific Corporation | 104% | 119% | 1.05 |
| CINF: Cincinnati Financial Corporation | 66.0% | 63.0% | 0.60 |
| [NEE](https://easycompare.io/research/nee): NextEra Energy, Inc. | 62.0% | 44.0% | 0.45 |
| CNA: CNA Financial Corporation | 57.0% | 45.0% | 0.54 |
| EG: Everest Group, Ltd. | 46.0% | 32.0% | 0.46 |
| RLI: RLI Corp. | 57.0% | 54.0% | 0.39 |
| [AIG](https://easycompare.io/research/aig): American International Group, Inc. | 64.0% | 93.0% | 0.91 |
| [BRK-A](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-a): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | 78.0% | 70.0% | 0.75 |
| MKL: Markel Corporation | 65.0% | 88.0% | 0.68 |

### What diversifies BRK-B?

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 BRK-B into PJUL would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 16% over the past 5 years for a small cut in its annual return (+12.8% for BRK-B alone, +12.6% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, PJUL and FTLS have moved largely independently of BRK-B over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, CLS and FIX have moved largely independently of BRK-B over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.41 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with BRK-B | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in BRK-B's 6 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.34 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 6 |
| PJUL: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | 0.44 | +64.4% | 8.6% | 1.20 | 0 of 6 |
| FTLS: First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF | 0.48 | +62.9% | 10.4% | 0.99 | 1 of 6 |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 0.49 | +140% | 20.3% | 0.97 | 1 of 6 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.16 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 6 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.13 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 6 |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | 0.44 | +107% | 17.2% | 0.94 | 1 of 6 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.39 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 0 of 6 |

## Common questions

### What was BRK-B's worst drawdown?

BRK-B's deepest decline since it began trading in 1996 was 53.9%, from December 2007 to March 2009. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were BRK-B's best and worst years?

Over 29 full calendar years, BRK-B's best year was 1998, when it returned 52.7%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -32.1%.

### Is there a better investment than BRK-B?

Among BRK-B's popular alternatives, TRV, ALL and AFG were ahead of BRK-B in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (22.3%, 26.2% and 22.6% volatility against 17.1%). Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MFC (life insurance) and AIZ (property & casualty insurance) were ahead of BRK-B in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (24.0% and 25.3% volatility against 17.1%).

### Is BRK-B more volatile than the S&P 500?

No. BRK-B's volatility over the past 5 years was 17.1%, 1.0 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, BRK-B's return lands within 17.1% 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 BRK-B's Sharpe ratio?

BRK-B's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.82, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so BRK-B 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 BRK-B with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, BRK-B's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.50 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 BRK-B instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a BRK-B holding.

### What are the best alternatives to BRK-B?

Of the 23 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed BRK-B in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: ALL, TRV and AFG.

### Did BRK-B outperform the S&P 500?

BRK-B finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 15 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +10.9%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did BRK-B do in stock market crashes?

BRK-B fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in seven of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in three. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when BRK-B fell 23.2% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies BRK-B?

These had a low correlation with BRK-B over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.34), PJUL (correlation 0.44) and FTLS (correlation 0.48); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.41), CLS (correlation 0.04) and FIX (correlation 0.22). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Allstate (ALL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/all)
- [Travelers Companies (TRV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/trv)
- [JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm)
- [Norfolk Southern (NSC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nsc)
- [State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spy)
- [Chubb (CB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cb)
- [Progressive (PGR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr)
- [Union Pacific (UNP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/unp)
- [NextEra Energy (NEE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nee)
- [American International Group (AIG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aig)
- [Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-a)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)

## Explore further

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