# How El Paso Energy Capital Trust I PFD CV TR SECS (EP-PC) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/ep-pc
> 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 EP-PC alone. It places EP-PC (El Paso Energy Capital Trust I PFD CV TR SECS) against 5 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 EP-PC stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: EP-PC's full trading record, from March 1998 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, EP-PC rose 1.8% against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 6 months, KMI (Kinder Morgan) rose 7.1% and PGX (Invesco Preferred ETF) fell 8.1%.
- **Stock or market?:** EP-PC fell 0.4% over the past 3 months, 3.0 points ahead of the preferred stocks ETF PFF (iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF), which fell 3.3%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its preferred stock peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: KMI (Kinder Morgan) rose 4.0%, while CWB (State Street SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF) fell 5.5%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** EP-PC has trailed the market, rising 5.9% 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 (29.1% against 89.3%). The last two calendar years both went the same way: EP-PC rose 7.5% in 2025, against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Long term:** EP-PC turned $10,000 into $13,800 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** EP-PC fell less than the S&P 500 in five of seven sell-offs, but the 2015 China and oil sell-off broke the pattern: it fell 24.2%, more than the S&P 500's 12.8%.
- **Diversification:** EP-PC is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.37 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.37 with the total US market, less closely than 55% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Over 10 years, EP-PC's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.31: 23% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 24% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** AQNB (Algonquin Power & Utilities, junior subordinated debt) was ahead of EP-PC in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (11.6% volatility against 8.9%).
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only nine of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than EP-PC with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BALT (Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF), BUFD (FT Vest Laddered Deep Buffer ETF) and POCT (Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF).

## How much would $10,000 in EP-PC have grown?

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

- $10,000 invested in EP-PC at the end of September 2010 would have grown to $20,532 by September 2026, less than the $88,503 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the seven other investments on the chart ended ahead of EP-PC, and NVDA finished highest, at $8,585,151.

## EP-PC 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.

- EP-PC's deepest decline since it began trading in 1998 was 85.0%, from February 2001 to October 2002. It took about nine years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- EP-PC is trading within 1% of its all-time high.
- Over 27 full calendar years, EP-PC's best was 2003, when it returned 103%, and its worst was 2002, when it lost 65.3%. It lost money in nine of those years.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Financial - Credit Services)
- Trading since: March 12, 1998
- Market value: $112B
- Volatility (5 years): 8.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.61
- Worst decline ever: −85.0%, from February 21, 2001 to October 9, 2002; back at its high by November 30, 2011

| Period | EP-PC total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +0.8% |
| 3 months | −0.4% |
| 6 months | +1.8% |
| year to date | +5.8% |
| 1 year | +5.9% |
| 3 years | +29.1% |
| 5 years | +28.5% |
| 10 years | +37.8% |

## EP-PC against the whole market

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

### How does EP-PC rank among all stocks?

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

- EP-PC is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 1% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | EP-PC | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +5.9% | 1,742 of 3,287 (top 53%) |
| 3-year return | +29.1% | 1,863 of 3,017 (top 62%) |
| 5-year return | +28.5% | 1,353 of 2,893 (top 47%) |
| 10-year return | +37.8% | 1,641 of 2,202 (top 75%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 8.9% | 1 of 2,893 (top 1%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.61 | 644 of 2,893 (top 23%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −25.4% | 7 of 2,187 (top 1%) |

### What has beaten EP-PC 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).

- Nine ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than EP-PC 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 EP-PC's swings, POCT has the best return for its risk: 10.0% a year at 8.0% volatility, 10% less than EP-PC's 8.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.23 against 0.61 for EP-PC.

### Is there a better investment than EP-PC?

The table below lists investments that beat EP-PC 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 EP-PC's popular alternatives, KMI and AMLP were ahead of EP-PC in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (22.5% and 18.9% volatility against 8.9%).
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, AQNB (junior subordinated debt) was ahead of EP-PC in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (11.6% volatility against 8.9%).
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only nine of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than EP-PC with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BALT, BUFD and POCT.

The 4 strongest of 9 investments that beat EP-PC 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 EP-PC | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EP-PC: El Paso Energy Capital Trust I PFD CV TR SECS (this page) |  | +5.2% | 8.9% | 0.61 | −25.4% | +37.8% |  |  |
| POCT: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | Broad Market | +10.0% | 8.0% | 1.23 | −18.8% | — | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DOCT: FT Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - October | Multi-Asset | +8.3% | 7.4% | 1.11 | −9.9% | — | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| BALT: Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF | Crypto | +6.3% | 3.3% | 1.85 | −4.9% | — | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| HYGH: iShares Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond ETF | Bonds | +6.6% | 7.1% | 0.94 | −23.9% | +74.5% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## EP-PC against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against EP-PC, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do EP-PC'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 five popular alternatives earned more than EP-PC over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Three of the five popular alternatives earned less than EP-PC over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, EP-PC returned 5.1% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with lower volatility (8.9% against 17.1%).

### Has EP-PC consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- KMI outperformed EP-PC in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- Two of the five popular alternatives, KMI and AMLP, outperformed EP-PC in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of EP-PC | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EP-PC: El Paso Energy Capital Trust I PFD CV TR SECS (this page) | +5.9% | +29.1% | +28.5% | +37.8% |  |  | 0.61 |
| [KMI](https://easycompare.io/research/kmi): Kinder Morgan, Inc. | +26.9% | +129% | +136% | +163% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.88 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | +22.8% | +56.0% | +111% | +91.0% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.89 |
| CWB: State Street SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF | +4.9% | +54.0% | +20.2% | +178% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| PFF: iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF | −3.8% | +21.6% | −0.9% | +29.6% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.04 |
| PGX: Invesco Preferred ETF | −8.7% | +16.0% | −11.0% | +16.8% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.15 |

### How did EP-PC do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1999, along with where EP-PC ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- EP-PC finished ahead of the S&P 500 in ten of its 27 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, EP-PC finished in the top quarter in five of 15 years and in the bottom quarter in one. In 2025, it ranked 2 of 6.
- Among its popular alternatives, KMI came out ahead of EP-PC most often, in eight of the 14 years both traded.

| Year | EP-PC | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +7.5% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +7.1% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +10.1% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −6.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +2.5% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +0.6% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +26.2% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −14.3% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | −0.5% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +19.6% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How EP-PC 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 EP-PC's worst declines?

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

- In all five of EP-PC's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: EP-PC fell 37.2% from April to December 2015, while the S&P 500 slipped only 3.8%.
- The slowest recovery came after EP-PC fell 37.2% from April to December 2015; it did not regain that peak until August 2025, ten years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −85.0% | February 21, 2001 | October 9, 2002 | November 30, 2011 | −36.3% | dot-com bust |
| −37.3% | April 23, 2015 | December 18, 2015 | August 13, 2025 | −3.8% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −21.6% | July 16, 1998 | September 1, 1998 | April 28, 1999 | −15.5% |  |
| −19.0% | December 28, 2000 | January 22, 2001 | February 21, 2001 | +0.9% | dot-com bust |
| −17.8% | May 21, 2013 | March 13, 2014 | December 29, 2014 | +12.5% |  |

### How did EP-PC do in stock market crashes?

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

- EP-PC fell less than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when EP-PC fell 8.9% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.
- None of its popular alternatives fell less than EP-PC in most of the crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | EP-PC fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −85.0% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −51.1% | −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 | −9.5% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −24.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −0.2% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −12.3% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −22.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −8.9% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.1% | −3.4% |

### How closely does EP-PC 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, EP-PC captured 23% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 24% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.31. It took about the same share of the market's gains as of its losses.
- Only CWB had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than EP-PC's 0.98, out of five popular alternatives with the same record.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EP-PC: El Paso Energy Capital Trust I PFD CV TR SECS (this page) | 23.0% | 24.0% | 0.31 |
| [KMI](https://easycompare.io/research/kmi): Kinder Morgan, Inc. | 68.0% | 82.0% | 0.82 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 79.0% | 112% | 1.18 |
| CWB: State Street SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF | 72.0% | 70.0% | 0.78 |
| PFF: iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF | 39.0% | 59.0% | 0.50 |
| PGX: Invesco Preferred ETF | 35.0% | 58.0% | 0.45 |

### What diversifies EP-PC?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- FIX made money in seven of the nine calendar years in which EP-PC lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of EP-PC over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.38 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, CLS and FIX have moved largely independently of EP-PC over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.24 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with EP-PC | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in EP-PC's 9 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.38 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 9 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.18 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 9 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.38 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 2 of 9 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.27 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 2 of 9 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.30 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 3 of 9 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.36 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 2 of 9 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.24 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 9 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.25 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 9 |

## Common questions

### What was EP-PC's worst drawdown?

EP-PC's deepest decline since it began trading in 1998 was 85.0%, from February 2001 to October 2002. It took about nine years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were EP-PC's best and worst years?

Over 27 full calendar years, EP-PC's best year was 2003, when it returned 103%. Its worst was 2002, with a return of -65.3%.

### Is there a better investment than EP-PC?

Among EP-PC's popular alternatives, KMI and AMLP were ahead of EP-PC in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (22.5% and 18.9% volatility against 8.9%). Looking beyond its popular alternatives, AQNB (junior subordinated debt) was ahead of EP-PC in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (11.6% volatility against 8.9%).

### Is EP-PC more volatile than the S&P 500?

No. EP-PC's volatility over the past 5 years was 8.9%, 52% of the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, EP-PC's return lands within 8.9% 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 EP-PC's Sharpe ratio?

EP-PC's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.61, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so EP-PC 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 EP-PC with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, EP-PC's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.37 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 EP-PC instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a EP-PC holding.

### What are the best alternatives to EP-PC?

Of the five popular alternatives we compared, two outperformed EP-PC in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: KMI and AMLP.

### Did EP-PC outperform the S&P 500?

EP-PC finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in ten of 27 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +7.5%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did EP-PC do in stock market crashes?

EP-PC fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in eight of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in two. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when EP-PC fell 8.9% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies EP-PC?

These had a low correlation with EP-PC over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.38), DXJ (correlation 0.18) and EMLP (correlation 0.38); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.10), CLS (correlation 0.06) and FIX (correlation 0.24). 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/ep-pc
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against EP-PC live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=EP-PC&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research