# How Consolidated Edison (ED) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/ed
> 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 ED alone. It places ED (Consolidated Edison, 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 ED stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: ED'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:** ED has trailed the market, rising 3.8% over the past 6 months against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Even so, it sits 1.4% below its record high, and the S&P 500 is similarly close to its own.
- **Stock or market?:** ED held up far better than its industry: it rose 1.7% over the past 3 months while the electric utilities ETF XLU (State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF) fell 6.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Last month cut against the tape: ED rose 7.8% while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, ED rose 13.7% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (42.4% against 89.3%). The last two calendar years both went the same way: ED rose 15.1% in 2025, against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Long term:** ED turned $10,000 into $21,400 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, ED has typically lost about 65% as much as the S&P 500. In the 2022 bear market, ED held up better than its electric utility peers, including SO (Southern), DUK and D.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, ED has a correlation of 0.23 over 5 years, less closely than 82% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is a real diversifier. Over 10 years, ED's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.22: 31% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 18% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** NI (NiSource) earned more than ED over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 15.1% a year at 20.3% volatility, against 12.0% a year at 18.8%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 57 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ED with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BRK-B (Berkshire Hathaway), BRK-A (Berkshire Hathaway) and KO (Coca-Cola).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in ED at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $109,083 by September 2026, less 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 ED, and ETR finished highest, at $234,668.

## ED 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.

- ED's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 49.4%, from October 1998 to February 2000. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, ED's best was 1997, when it returned 50.5%, and its worst was 1999, when it lost 31.4%. It lost money in six of those years.
- ED is 1.4% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Utilities (Regulated Electric)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $41B
- Volatility (5 years): 18.8%; Sharpe ratio: 0.70
- Worst decline ever: −49.4%, from October 5, 1998 to February 25, 2000; back at its high by January 6, 2003

| Period | ED total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +7.8% |
| 3 months | +1.7% |
| 6 months | +3.8% |
| year to date | +14.7% |
| 1 year | +13.7% |
| 3 years | +42.4% |
| 5 years | +76.3% |
| 10 years | +114% |

## ED against the whole market

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

### How does ED rank among all stocks?

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

- ED'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 | ED | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +13.7% | 1,456 of 3,287 (top 45%) |
| 3-year return | +42.4% | 1,659 of 3,017 (top 55%) |
| 5-year return | +76.3% | 848 of 2,893 (top 30%) |
| 10-year return | +114% | 1,276 of 2,202 (top 58%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 18.8% | 58 of 2,893 (top 3%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.70 | 462 of 2,893 (top 16%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −30.9% | 29 of 2,187 (top 2%) |

### What has beaten ED 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 stocks and 53 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than ED over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 2% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half ED's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 41% less than ED's 18.8%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.70 for ED.

### Is there a better investment than ED?

The table below lists investments that beat ED 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 ED's popular alternatives, NI earned more than ED over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 15.1% a year at 20.3% volatility, against 12.0% a year at 18.8%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 57 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ED with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BRK-B, BRK-A and KO.

The 15 strongest of 57 investments that beat ED 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 ED | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ED: Consolidated Edison, Inc. (this page) |  | +12.0% | 18.8% | 0.70 | −30.9% | +114% |  |  |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Equity | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| AVLV: Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +14.0% | 16.9% | 0.86 | −19.5% | — | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| TSPA: T. Rowe Price U.S. Equity Research ETF | Broad Market | +13.1% | 17.1% | 0.81 | −24.7% | — | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [BRK-B](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-b): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.4% | 17.1% | 0.82 | −29.6% | +274% | 0.52 | 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% | 0.50 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Food & Beverages | +14.7% | 16.8% | 0.91 | −37.0% | +204% | 0.57 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [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% | — | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FNDF: Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF | International Equity | +13.6% | 16.3% | 0.87 | −40.2% | +194% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.1% | 15.1% | 1.07 | −41.3% | — | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| AVDV: Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF | International Equity | +13.9% | 17.4% | 0.84 | −43.0% | — | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| RWL: Invesco S&P 500 Revenue ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +13.7% | 14.4% | 0.97 | −36.1% | +287% | 0.39 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | International Equity | +13.1% | 13.8% | 0.96 | −32.5% | +206% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | Global Equity | +15.7% | 17.2% | 0.94 | −31.4% | +361% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | US Dividend Equity | +13.9% | 14.4% | 0.98 | −41.4% | +199% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| JQUA: JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF | US Quality Equity | +13.6% | 15.7% | 0.89 | −32.9% | — | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## ED against its popular alternatives

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

### How do ED'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 ATO was both more rewarding and calmer than ED over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- 17 of the 24 popular alternatives earned less than ED over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, ED returned 12.0% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (18.8% against 17.1%).

### Has ED consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares ED 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 25 popular alternatives, PNW, outperformed ED in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- AEP outperformed ED over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so ED has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of ED | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ED: Consolidated Edison, Inc. (this page) | +13.7% | +42.4% | +76.3% | +114% |  |  | 0.70 |
| PNW: Pinnacle West Capital Corporation | +15.3% | +57.1% | +87.3% | +103% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.73 |
| [VST](https://easycompare.io/research/vst): Vistra Corp. | −22.2% | +383% | +748% | +1,195% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.13 |
| [ETR](https://easycompare.io/research/etr): Entergy Corporation | +11.4% | +149% | +141% | +311% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| ATO: Atmos Energy Corporation | −3.8% | +65.2% | +100% | +194% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.85 |
| [AEP](https://easycompare.io/research/aep): American Electric Power Company, Inc. | +11.3% | +93.3% | +79.4% | +185% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.68 |
| NI: NiSource Inc | +0.1% | +86.1% | +102% | +158% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.80 |
| AEE: Ameren Corporation | +3.4% | +52.5% | +45.9% | +192% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| [SO](https://easycompare.io/research/so): The Southern Company | −4.1% | +53.0% | +70.9% | +170% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| WEC: WEC Energy Group, Inc. | −4.3% | +49.1% | +41.6% | +159% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| [XEL](https://easycompare.io/research/xel): Xcel Energy Inc. | −2.7% | +46.0% | +37.3% | +156% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| LNT: Alliant Energy Corporation | +2.6% | +54.6% | +42.3% | +150% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| [DUK](https://easycompare.io/research/duk): Duke Energy Corporation | −2.6% | +56.1% | +43.9% | +132% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| DTE: DTE Energy Company | −6.7% | +48.3% | +32.2% | +127% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| AWK: American Water Works Company, Inc. | −4.1% | +26.2% | −13.1% | +131% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.01 |
| EVRG: Evergy, Inc. | +9.0% | +93.6% | +57.2% | +109% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| [CEG](https://easycompare.io/research/ceg): Constellation Energy Corporation | −29.7% | +135% | — | — | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| [EXC](https://easycompare.io/research/exc): Exelon Corporation | −7.5% | +22.6% | +40.7% | +159% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.43 |
| PEG: Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated | −13.6% | +31.9% | +32.3% | +142% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| CMS: CMS Energy Corporation | −6.0% | +42.2% | +31.4% | +123% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| FE: FirstEnergy Corp. | +0.7% | +46.8% | +50.2% | +111% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| PPL: PPL Corporation | −5.2% | +60.8% | +40.7% | +59.2% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| [D](https://easycompare.io/research/d): Dominion Energy, Inc. | +6.6% | +80.8% | +2.7% | +32.5% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.14 |
| ES: Eversource Energy | −6.0% | +40.5% | −7.0% | +72.0% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| EIX: Edison International | +3.6% | +5.2% | +22.0% | +21.5% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.29 |
| PCG: PG&E Corporation | −19.9% | −16.0% | +16.9% | −77.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |

### How did ED do year by year?

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

- ED finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 12 of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, ED finished in the top quarter in seven of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in ten. In 2025, it ranked 13 of 26.
- Among its popular alternatives, VST came out ahead of ED most often, in six of the nine years both traded.

| Year | ED | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +15.1% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +1.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −1.1% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +15.7% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +22.9% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −17.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +22.6% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −6.6% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +17.2% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +18.9% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How ED 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 ED's worst declines?

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

- Not every decline was the market's doing: ED fell 49.4% from October 1998 to February 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 37.0%.
- The slowest recovery came after ED fell 49.4% from October 1998 to February 2000; it did not regain that peak until January 2003, three years later.
- In two of ED's four worst declines, it fell less than the S&P 500 did over the same dates.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −49.4% | October 5, 1998 | February 25, 2000 | January 6, 2003 | +37.0% |  |
| −34.5% | September 10, 1993 | September 12, 1994 | January 2, 1996 | +3.6% |  |
| −30.9% | February 20, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | March 3, 2022 | −33.4% | Covid crash |
| −30.8% | April 25, 2007 | March 9, 2009 | December 14, 2009 | −52.7% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −27.0% | December 22, 1989 | August 23, 1990 | August 7, 1991 | — |  |

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

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

- ED fell less than the S&P 500 in all ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when ED fell 30.1% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.
- None of its popular alternatives fell less than ED in most of the crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | ED fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −25.5% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −30.1% | −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 | −5.9% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −9.8% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −4.1% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −10.3% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −30.9% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −22.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −1.2% | −3.4% |

### How closely does ED 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, ED captured 31% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 18% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.22. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- Five of the 23 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than ED's 1.75, led by ETR, SO and AEP.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ED: Consolidated Edison, Inc. (this page) | 31.0% | 18.0% | 0.22 |
| PNW: Pinnacle West Capital Corporation | 34.0% | 27.0% | 0.38 |
| [ETR](https://easycompare.io/research/etr): Entergy Corporation | 58.0% | 24.0% | 0.53 |
| ATO: Atmos Energy Corporation | 58.0% | 49.0% | 0.51 |
| [AEP](https://easycompare.io/research/aep): American Electric Power Company, Inc. | 44.0% | 23.0% | 0.40 |
| NI: NiSource Inc | 43.0% | 32.0% | 0.44 |
| AEE: Ameren Corporation | 51.0% | 33.0% | 0.38 |
| [SO](https://easycompare.io/research/so): The Southern Company | 41.0% | 20.0% | 0.39 |
| WEC: WEC Energy Group, Inc. | 41.0% | 23.0% | 0.34 |
| [XEL](https://easycompare.io/research/xel): Xcel Energy Inc. | 41.0% | 24.0% | 0.35 |
| LNT: Alliant Energy Corporation | 50.0% | 45.0% | 0.46 |
| [DUK](https://easycompare.io/research/duk): Duke Energy Corporation | 35.0% | 19.0% | 0.33 |
| DTE: DTE Energy Company | 47.0% | 42.0% | 0.50 |
| AWK: American Water Works Company, Inc. | 48.0% | 45.0% | 0.44 |
| EVRG: Evergy, Inc. | 42.0% | 38.0% | 0.47 |
| [EXC](https://easycompare.io/research/exc): Exelon Corporation | 40.0% | 21.0% | 0.37 |
| PEG: Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated | 52.0% | 47.0% | 0.53 |
| CMS: CMS Energy Corporation | 35.0% | 23.0% | 0.28 |
| FE: FirstEnergy Corp. | 40.0% | 33.0% | 0.36 |
| PPL: PPL Corporation | 52.0% | 77.0% | 0.65 |
| [D](https://easycompare.io/research/d): Dominion Energy, Inc. | 43.0% | 70.0% | 0.52 |
| ES: Eversource Energy | 49.0% | 61.0% | 0.52 |
| EIX: Edison International | 30.0% | 52.0% | 0.61 |
| PCG: PG&E Corporation | −17.0% | 72.0% | 0.78 |

### What diversifies ED?

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 ED into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+10.8% for ED alone, +14.3% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, MLPX and SMH have moved largely independently of ED over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- FIX made money in four of the six calendar years in which ED lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with ED | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in ED's 6 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.07 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 6 |
| MLPX: Global X - MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | 0.48 | +135% | 19.7% | 0.97 | 1 of 6 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.08 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 3 of 6 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.36 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 3 of 6 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.41 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 6 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.05 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 6 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.39 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 2 of 6 |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | 0.47 | +99.4% | 16.4% | 0.93 | 1 of 6 |

## Common questions

### What was ED's worst drawdown?

ED's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 49.4%, from October 1998 to February 2000. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, ED's best year was 1997, when it returned 50.5%. Its worst was 1999, with a return of -31.4%.

### Is there a better investment than ED?

Among ED's popular alternatives, NI earned more than ED over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 15.1% a year at 20.3% volatility, against 12.0% a year at 18.8%. Few investments have done better on both counts: only 57 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ED with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BRK-B, BRK-A and KO.

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

Yes. ED's volatility over the past 5 years was 18.8%, 1.1 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, ED's return lands within 18.8% 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 ED's Sharpe ratio?

ED's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.70, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so ED 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 ED with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, ED's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.23 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 ED instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a ED holding.

### What are the best alternatives to ED?

Of the 25 popular alternatives we compared, one outperformed ED in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: PNW.

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

ED finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 12 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +15.1%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

ED fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in ten of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in no. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when ED fell 30.1% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.

### What diversifies ED?

These had a low correlation with ED over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.07), MLPX (correlation 0.48) and SMH (correlation 0.08); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.25), CLS (correlation -0.15) and FIX (correlation 0.10). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

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