# How Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/ibkr
> 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 IBKR alone. It places IBKR (Interactive Brokers Group, 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 IBKR stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: IBKR's full trading record, from May 2007 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 3 months, IBKR fell 9.5% while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%.
- **Stock or market?:** IBKR's 9.5% fall over the past 3 months is part of a broader investment banking & brokerage sell-off: the investment banking & brokerage ETF IAI (iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF) fell 5.9%, with MS (Morgan Stanley, down 14.0%) and GS (Goldman Sachs Group, down 15.7%).
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** IBKR has outpaced the market, rising 24.4% 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 (320% against 89.3%). IBKR lagged its investment banking & brokerage peers in 2023, then moved up the pack in 2025.
- **Long term:** IBKR turned $10,000 into $104,000 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. IBKR's 10-year return of 935% puts it ahead of 95% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** Across six sell-offs, IBKR has typically fallen 1.3 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, IBKR has a correlation of 0.62 over 5 years, more closely than 92% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, banks) earned more than IBKR with less volatility over the past 5 years: 38.7% a year at 33.3% volatility, against 35.4% a year at 35.4%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only ten of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than IBKR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them LLY (Eli Lilly and Company), BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) and MPC (Marathon Petroleum).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in IBKR over the past 19 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of IBKR over the same span and IBKR's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in IBKR at the end of September 2007 would have grown to $182,133 by September 2026, more than the $70,725 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of IBKR, and NVDA finished highest, at $2,767,416.

## IBKR 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.

- IBKR's deepest decline since it began trading in 2007 was 63.7%, from February 2008 to March 2009. It took about six years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 18 full calendar years, IBKR's best was 2024, when it returned 114%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 44.6%. It lost money in seven of those years.
- IBKR is 15.5% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Investment - Banking & Investment Services)
- Trading since: May 4, 2007
- Market value: $146B
- Volatility (5 years): 35.4%; Sharpe ratio: 1.04
- Worst decline ever: −63.7%, from February 1, 2008 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by November 25, 2014

| Period | IBKR total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −11.1% |
| 3 months | −9.5% |
| 6 months | +2.2% |
| year to date | +23.7% |
| 1 year | +24.4% |
| 3 years | +320% |
| 5 years | +355% |
| 10 years | +935% |

## IBKR against the whole market

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

### How does IBKR rank among all stocks?

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

- On return for the risk taken (the Sharpe ratio), IBKR ranks in the top 3% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million.

| Measure | IBKR | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +24.4% | 1,121 of 3,287 (top 35%) |
| 3-year return | +320% | 198 of 3,017 (top 7%) |
| 5-year return | +355% | 128 of 2,893 (top 5%) |
| 10-year return | +935% | 121 of 2,202 (top 6%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 35.4% | 1,164 of 2,893 (top 41%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 1.04 | 80 of 2,893 (top 3%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −55.1% | 676 of 2,187 (top 31%) |

### What has beaten IBKR 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).

- Ten stocks worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than IBKR 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 IBKR's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 30% less than IBKR's 35.4%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 1.04 for IBKR. MPC earned the most, 51.2% a year, while still swinging less than IBKR (33.4% against 35.4%).
- None of IBKR's popular alternatives made it, but BBVA (banks) did: 38.7% a year at 33.3% volatility, 6% less than IBKR's 35.4%.

### Is there a better investment than IBKR?

The table below lists investments that beat IBKR 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.

- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, BBVA (banks) earned more than IBKR with less volatility over the past 5 years: 38.7% a year at 33.3% volatility, against 35.4% a year at 35.4%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only ten of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than IBKR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them LLY, BBVA and MPC.

The 10 strongest of 10 investments that beat IBKR 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 IBKR | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IBKR: Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (this page) |  | +35.4% | 35.4% | 1.04 | −55.1% | +935% |  |  |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +40.7% | 32.8% | 1.21 | −34.5% | +1,807% | 0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [MPC](https://easycompare.io/research/mpc): Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Oil & Gas | +51.2% | 33.4% | 1.41 | −79.7% | +1,387% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.12 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | Health Care Distribution | +38.7% | 25.0% | 1.44 | −38.1% | +586% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [HWM](https://easycompare.io/research/hwm): Howmet Aerospace Inc. | Aerospace & Defense | +47.3% | 32.5% | 1.36 | −68.9% | +1,028% | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [TRGP](https://easycompare.io/research/trgp): Targa Resources Corp. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +41.8% | 31.7% | 1.27 | −90.8% | +829% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| MLI: Mueller Industries, Inc. | Metal Fabrication | +38.9% | 33.4% | 1.16 | −53.0% | +800% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [BBVA](https://easycompare.io/research/bbva): Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. | Banks | +38.7% | 33.3% | 1.16 | −69.6% | +542% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| MOG-A: Moog Inc. | Aerospace & Defense | +36.6% | 32.0% | 1.14 | −63.7% | +595% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| LAUR: Laureate Education, Inc. | Education Services | +37.5% | 32.8% | 1.14 | −64.5% | — | 0.24 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## IBKR against its popular alternatives

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

### How do IBKR'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 IBKR over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Over the past 5 years, IBKR returned 35.4% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (35.4% against 17.1%).

### Has IBKR consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- None of the 22 popular alternatives outperformed IBKR in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was LPLA.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of IBKR | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IBKR: Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (this page) | +24.4% | +320% | +355% | +935% |  |  | 1.04 |
| LPLA: LPL Financial Holdings Inc. | −4.9% | +47.1% | +88.9% | +1,057% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.54 |
| [HOOD](https://easycompare.io/research/hood): Robinhood Markets, Inc. | −27.7% | +976% | +135% | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| VIRT: Virtu Financial, Inc. | +76.5% | +243% | +158% | +545% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.73 |
| CBOE: Cboe Global Markets, Inc. | +34.2% | +101% | +165% | +463% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.91 |
| BGC: BGC Group, Inc | +27.4% | +105% | +122% | +182% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.61 |
| OPY: Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. | +50.8% | +201% | +121% | +743% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.64 |
| [AMP](https://easycompare.io/research/amp): Ameriprise Financial, Inc. | +4.5% | +62.6% | +76.8% | +507% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.55 |
| [NDAQ](https://easycompare.io/research/ndaq): Nasdaq, Inc. | +8.1% | +95.1% | +52.9% | +407% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| [CME](https://easycompare.io/research/cme): CME Group Inc. | +14.6% | +57.7% | +70.1% | +319% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.62 |
| TW: Tradeweb Markets Inc. | +10.2% | +48.4% | +45.3% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| RJF: Raymond James Financial, Inc. | −4.5% | +69.5% | +64.2% | +358% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| [ICE](https://easycompare.io/research/ice): Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. | +3.5% | +52.4% | +30.0% | +240% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.35 |
| MKTX: MarketAxess Holdings Inc. | −1.9% | −26.8% | −56.7% | +19.9% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.30 |
| FUTU: Futu Holdings Limited | −36.1% | +89.7% | +63.7% | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| [GS](https://easycompare.io/research/gs): The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | +18.2% | +215% | +145% | +521% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| JEF: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. | −14.2% | +51.7% | +30.3% | +249% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| [COIN](https://easycompare.io/research/coin): Coinbase Global, Inc. | −50.3% | +129% | −45.7% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.29 |
| PIPR: Piper Sandler Companies | −20.5% | +103% | +88.4% | +762% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.54 |
| [MS](https://easycompare.io/research/ms): Morgan Stanley | +13.9% | +170% | +110% | +627% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.66 |
| SF: Stifel Financial Corp | −9.0% | +86.5% | +49.5% | +374% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| [SCHW](https://easycompare.io/research/schw): The Charles Schwab Corporation | −3.1% | +86.2% | +19.1% | +221% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| TIGR: UP Fintech Holding Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A | −58.6% | −9.7% | −50.5% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |

### How did IBKR do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2008, along with where IBKR ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- IBKR finished ahead of the S&P 500 in nine of its 18 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, FUTU came out ahead of IBKR most often, in four of the six years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, IBKR finished in the top quarter in five of 18 years and in the bottom quarter in four. In 2025, it ranked 5 of 23.

| Year | IBKR | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +46.3% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +114% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +15.2% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −8.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +31.2% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +31.7% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | −14.0% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −7.1% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +62.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | −15.4% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How IBKR 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 IBKR's worst declines?

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

- In all five of IBKR's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The slowest recovery came after IBKR fell 63.7% from February 2008 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until November 2014, six years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −63.7% | February 1, 2008 | March 9, 2009 | November 25, 2014 | −50.0% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −55.1% | May 11, 2018 | March 23, 2020 | March 9, 2021 | −15.0% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −38.7% | February 18, 2025 | April 7, 2025 | July 10, 2025 | −17.3% |  |
| −35.3% | December 28, 2021 | May 9, 2022 | January 18, 2023 | −16.2% | 2022 bear market |
| −33.3% | July 6, 2015 | February 8, 2016 | September 28, 2017 | −9.3% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |

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

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

- IBKR fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the nine crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when IBKR fell 32.6% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, VIRT held up best, falling less than IBKR in five of the six crashes they both traded through.
- IBKR began trading after the dot-com bust, but eight of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was JEF's 28.6%, against 47.5% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | IBKR fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −63.7% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −2.6% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −14.2% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −32.6% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −5.6% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −18.2% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −38.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −33.3% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −14.3% | −3.4% |

### How closely does IBKR 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, IBKR captured 128% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 92% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.03. Its share of the market's gains was larger than its share of the losses.
- LPLA took just 52% of the S&P 500's losses, against 92% for IBKR, while still keeping 110% of its gains.
- Four of the 16 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than IBKR's 1.40, led by CME, LPLA and OPY.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IBKR: Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (this page) | 128% | 92.0% | 1.03 |
| LPLA: LPL Financial Holdings Inc. | 110% | 52.0% | 0.85 |
| VIRT: Virtu Financial, Inc. | 45.0% | −28.0% | 0.20 |
| CBOE: Cboe Global Markets, Inc. | 79.0% | 50.0% | 0.53 |
| BGC: BGC Group, Inc | 96.0% | 118% | 1.42 |
| OPY: Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. | 119% | 74.0% | 1.12 |
| [AMP](https://easycompare.io/research/amp): Ameriprise Financial, Inc. | 141% | 152% | 1.41 |
| [NDAQ](https://easycompare.io/research/ndaq): Nasdaq, Inc. | 104% | 97.0% | 0.91 |
| [CME](https://easycompare.io/research/cme): CME Group Inc. | 50.0% | 11.0% | 0.33 |
| RJF: Raymond James Financial, Inc. | 103% | 97.0% | 1.07 |
| [ICE](https://easycompare.io/research/ice): Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. | 88.0% | 94.0% | 0.84 |
| MKTX: MarketAxess Holdings Inc. | 40.0% | 74.0% | 0.62 |
| [GS](https://easycompare.io/research/gs): The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | 136% | 133% | 1.39 |
| JEF: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. | 147% | 197% | 1.52 |
| PIPR: Piper Sandler Companies | 152% | 142% | 1.39 |
| [MS](https://easycompare.io/research/ms): Morgan Stanley | 142% | 137% | 1.39 |
| SF: Stifel Financial Corp | 120% | 125% | 1.25 |
| [SCHW](https://easycompare.io/research/schw): The Charles Schwab Corporation | 89.0% | 90.0% | 0.91 |

### What diversifies IBKR?

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 IBKR into MCK would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 17% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+41.3% for IBKR alone, +41.6% for the mix).
- GLD made money in five of the seven calendar years in which IBKR lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of IBKR over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.40 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with IBKR | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in IBKR's 7 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.23 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 7 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.28 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 7 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.40 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 7 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.45 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 4 of 7 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.02 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 5 of 7 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.22 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 5 of 7 |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | 0.30 | +99.4% | 16.4% | 0.93 | 0 of 7 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.33 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 3 of 7 |

## Common questions

### What was IBKR's worst drawdown?

IBKR's deepest decline since it began trading in 2007 was 63.7%, from February 2008 to March 2009. It took about six years from the low to climb back to its old high. Because IBKR launched in May 2007, that record does not include the dot-com bust.

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

Over 18 full calendar years, IBKR's best year was 2024, when it returned 114%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -44.6%.

### Is there a better investment than IBKR?

Looking beyond its popular alternatives, BBVA (banks) earned more than IBKR with less volatility over the past 5 years: 38.7% a year at 33.3% volatility, against 35.4% a year at 35.4%. Few investments have done better on both counts: only ten of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than IBKR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them LLY, BBVA and MPC.

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

Yes. IBKR's volatility over the past 5 years was 35.4%, about twice the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, IBKR's return lands within 35.4% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is IBKR's Sharpe ratio?

IBKR's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 1.04, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so IBKR 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 IBKR with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, IBKR's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.62 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 IBKR instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a IBKR holding.

### What are the best alternatives to IBKR?

None of the 22 popular alternatives we compared outperformed IBKR in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about IBKR's strength than about its alternatives.

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

IBKR finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in nine of 18 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +46.3%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

IBKR fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the nine major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when IBKR fell 32.6% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies IBKR?

These had a low correlation with IBKR over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.23), DXJ (correlation 0.28) and EMLP (correlation 0.40); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.12), MCK (correlation 0.13) and MPC (correlation 0.22). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Robinhood Markets (HOOD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hood)
- [Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amp)
- [Nasdaq (NDAQ) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ndaq)
- [CME Group (CME) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cme)
- [Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ice)
- [Goldman Sachs Group (GS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/gs)
- [Coinbase Global (COIN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/coin)
- [Morgan Stanley (MS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ms)
- [Charles Schwab (SCHW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schw)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)

## Explore further

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