# How Morgan Stanley (MS) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/ms
> 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 MS alone. It places MS (Morgan Stanley) 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 MS stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: MS's full trading record, from February 1993 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** MS has gone against the market, falling 14.0% over the past 3 months while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%. MS is 20.6% below its high, bear-market territory, while the S&P 500 sits 1.3% below a record.
- **Stock or market?:** The weakness is MS's own: it fell 14.0% over the past 3 months while the capital markets ETF IAI (iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF) fell 5.9%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its capital market peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co.) fell 0.6%, while EVR (Evercore) fell 24.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** MS lagged its capital market peers in 2023, then moved up the pack in 2025. MS finished ahead of the S&P 500 in both 2024 and 2025.
- **Long term:** Over the past decade, MS returned 21.9% a year against 15.5% a year for the S&P 500 (627% in total against 321%). MS's 10-year return of 627% puts it ahead of 90% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, MS has typically fallen 1.9 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, MS has a correlation of 0.69 over 5 years, more closely than 98% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. MS fell in 18 of the 22 months the S&P 500 fell over the past 5 years: it usually fell with it.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** RY (Royal Bank of Canada, banks) and HSBC (banks) earned more than MS with less volatility over the past 5 years. RY returned 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 16.0% a year at 28.8%.
  - **Whole market:** 98 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MS with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT (Walmart), JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co.) and XOM (Exxonmobil).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in MS at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $148,562 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 MS, and SF finished highest, at $522,688.

## MS 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.

- MS's deepest decline since it began trading in 1993 was 88.2%, from September 2000 to November 2008. It took about 12 years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- MS is still 20.6% below its all-time high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, MS's best was 1999, when it returned 103%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 68.9%. It lost money in ten of those years.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Financial - Capital Markets)
- Trading since: February 23, 1993
- Market value: $285B
- Volatility (5 years): 28.8%; Sharpe ratio: 0.66
- Worst decline ever: −88.2%, from September 11, 2000 to November 20, 2008; back at its high by November 24, 2020

| Period | MS total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −12.5% |
| 3 months | −14.0% |
| 6 months | −4.4% |
| year to date | +0.8% |
| 1 year | +13.9% |
| 3 years | +170% |
| 5 years | +110% |
| 10 years | +627% |

## MS against the whole market

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

### How does MS rank among all stocks?

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

- MS's 10-year return ranks in the top 10% of the 2,202 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | MS | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +13.9% | 1,448 of 3,287 (top 45%) |
| 3-year return | +170% | 493 of 3,017 (top 17%) |
| 5-year return | +110% | 625 of 2,893 (top 22%) |
| 10-year return | +627% | 226 of 2,202 (top 11%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 28.8% | 626 of 2,893 (top 22%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.66 | 543 of 2,893 (top 19%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −51.3% | 507 of 2,187 (top 24%) |

### What has beaten MS 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).

- 58 stocks and 40 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than MS over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 3% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half MS's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 14% less than MS's 28.8%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.66 for MS.
- Among MS's popular alternatives, JPM is in the region. JPM earned 17.3% a year against 16.0% a year for MS, at 24.3% volatility, 16% less than MS's 28.8%.

### Is there a better investment than MS?

The table below lists investments that beat MS 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 MS's popular alternatives, JPM earned more than MS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 17.3% a year at 24.3% volatility, against 16.0% a year at 28.8%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, RY (banks) and HSBC (banks) earned more than MS with less volatility over the past 5 years. RY returned 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 16.0% a year at 28.8%.
- Across the whole market, 98 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MS with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT, JPM and XOM.

The 15 strongest of 98 investments that beat MS 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 MS | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MS: Morgan Stanley (this page) |  | +16.0% | 28.8% | 0.66 | −51.3% | +627% |  |  |
| [PGR](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +21.3% | 25.6% | 0.89 | −30.3% | +816% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.16 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | Discount Retail | +17.4% | 22.9% | 0.82 | −31.4% | +685% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VGT](https://easycompare.io/research/vgt): Vanguard Information Technology ETF | Technology Equity | +18.4% | 26.0% | 0.78 | −35.1% | +779% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GWW](https://easycompare.io/research/gww): W.W. Grainger, Inc. | Industrial Distribution | +26.3% | 24.9% | 1.07 | −41.6% | +654% | 0.39 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | International Equity | +20.4% | 24.2% | 0.89 | −38.9% | +468% | 0.53 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| FLTW: Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF | Technology | +21.8% | 24.3% | 0.94 | −38.0% | — | 0.52 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [WELL](https://easycompare.io/research/well): Welltower Inc. | Healthcare REITs | +26.0% | 23.8% | 1.09 | −63.3% | +379% | 0.39 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [RTX](https://easycompare.io/research/rtx): RTX Corporation | Aerospace & Defense | +18.6% | 24.3% | 0.83 | −52.0% | +317% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +20.8% | 22.6% | 0.96 | −25.7% | +508% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [ABBV](https://easycompare.io/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +26.1% | 23.4% | 1.11 | −45.1% | +603% | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.76 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [MFC](https://easycompare.io/research/mfc): Manulife Financial Corporation | Life Insurance | +22.6% | 24.0% | 0.97 | −57.5% | +373% | 0.64 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [HLT](https://easycompare.io/research/hlt): Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | Hotels & Resorts | +21.0% | 26.8% | 0.85 | −50.8% | +694% | 0.57 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## MS against its popular alternatives

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

### How do MS'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 GS and JPM were both more rewarding and calmer than MS over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- 12 of the 23 popular alternatives earned less than MS over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, MS returned 16.0% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (28.8% against 17.1%).

### Has MS consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- IBKR outperformed MS in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- Two of the 23 popular alternatives, IBKR and OPY, outperformed MS in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- JPM and GS earned more for the risk they took than MS (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of MS | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MS: Morgan Stanley (this page) | +13.9% | +170% | +110% | +627% |  |  | 0.66 |
| [IBKR](https://easycompare.io/research/ibkr): Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. | +24.4% | +320% | +355% | +935% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.04 |
| OPY: Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. | +50.8% | +201% | +121% | +743% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.64 |
| [GS](https://easycompare.io/research/gs): The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | +18.2% | +215% | +145% | +521% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| [UBS](https://easycompare.io/research/ubs): UBS Group AG | +26.3% | +116% | +210% | +374% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | +13.0% | +150% | +122% | +537% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | +26.0% | +238% | +102% | +234% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| [KKR](https://easycompare.io/research/kkr): KKR & Co. Inc. | −25.2% | +65.7% | +31.8% | +653% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| PIPR: Piper Sandler Companies | −20.5% | +103% | +88.4% | +762% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.54 |
| [CME](https://easycompare.io/research/cme): CME Group Inc. | +14.6% | +57.7% | +70.1% | +319% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.62 |
| [BLK](https://easycompare.io/research/blk): BlackRock, Inc. | −0.6% | +96.3% | +41.1% | +313% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| RJF: Raymond James Financial, Inc. | −4.5% | +69.5% | +64.2% | +358% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| [SPGI](https://easycompare.io/research/spgi): S&P Global Inc. | −7.4% | +28.2% | +3.7% | +293% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.16 |
| HLI: Houlihan Lokey, Inc. | −31.2% | +35.0% | +37.8% | +549% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.37 |
| SF: Stifel Financial Corp | −9.0% | +86.5% | +49.5% | +374% | 2/5 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% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| LAZ: Lazard Inc | −23.6% | +47.7% | −9.7% | +73.5% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.14 |
| [BX](https://easycompare.io/research/bx): Blackstone Inc. | −28.4% | +28.6% | +2.1% | +628% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| EVR: Evercore Inc. | −20.6% | +102% | +68.8% | +499% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| PJT: PJT Partners Inc. | −22.5% | +88.7% | +62.6% | +477% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| MC: Moelis & Company | −18.4% | +49.4% | −2.3% | +343% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.17 |
| JEF: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. | −14.2% | +51.7% | +30.3% | +249% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| PWP: Perella Weinberg Partners | −33.5% | +40.2% | +1.7% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |
| [BAC](https://easycompare.io/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | −0.6% | +107% | +21.6% | +282% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |

### How did MS do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, MS finished in the top quarter in four of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in seven. In 2025, it ranked 5 of 24.
- MS finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 17 of its 29 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, HLI came out ahead of MS most often, in seven of the ten years both traded.

| Year | MS | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +45.2% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +39.7% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +13.9% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −10.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +46.6% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +38.1% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +32.7% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −22.8% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +26.6% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +36.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How MS 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 MS's worst declines?

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

- In all five of MS's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: MS fell 29.8% from October 1993 to April 1994, while the S&P 500 slipped only 3.6%.
- The slowest recovery came after MS fell 88.2% from September 2000 to November 2008; it did not regain that peak until November 2020, 12 years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −88.2% | September 11, 2000 | November 20, 2008 | November 24, 2020 | −42.0% | dot-com bust |
| −60.3% | July 17, 1998 | October 7, 1998 | February 22, 1999 | −17.8% |  |
| −33.4% | March 24, 2000 | May 26, 2000 | July 12, 2000 | −10.1% | dot-com bust |
| −32.4% | February 9, 2022 | June 17, 2022 | May 15, 2024 | −19.4% | 2022 bear market |
| −29.8% | October 5, 1993 | April 4, 1994 | May 5, 1995 | −3.6% |  |

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

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

- MS fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when MS fell 43.9% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, CME held up best, falling less than MS in eight of the nine crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | MS fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −72.0% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −86.2% | −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 | −47.7% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −43.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.7% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −24.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −50.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −32.4% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −8.2% | −3.4% |

### How closely does MS 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.

- OPY took just 74% of the S&P 500's losses, against 137% for MS, while still keeping 119% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, MS captured 142% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 137% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.39. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Eight of the 22 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than MS's 1.04, led by CME, OPY and IBKR.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MS: Morgan Stanley (this page) | 142% | 137% | 1.39 |
| [IBKR](https://easycompare.io/research/ibkr): Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. | 128% | 92.0% | 1.03 |
| OPY: Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. | 119% | 74.0% | 1.12 |
| [GS](https://easycompare.io/research/gs): The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | 136% | 133% | 1.39 |
| [UBS](https://easycompare.io/research/ubs): UBS Group AG | 116% | 120% | 1.18 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 117% | 103% | 1.09 |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | 131% | 165% | 1.49 |
| [KKR](https://easycompare.io/research/kkr): KKR & Co. Inc. | 171% | 191% | 1.62 |
| PIPR: Piper Sandler Companies | 152% | 142% | 1.39 |
| [CME](https://easycompare.io/research/cme): CME Group Inc. | 50.0% | 11.0% | 0.33 |
| [BLK](https://easycompare.io/research/blk): BlackRock, Inc. | 127% | 157% | 1.30 |
| RJF: Raymond James Financial, Inc. | 103% | 97.0% | 1.07 |
| [SPGI](https://easycompare.io/research/spgi): S&P Global Inc. | 107% | 125% | 1.04 |
| HLI: Houlihan Lokey, Inc. | 101% | 74.0% | 0.84 |
| SF: Stifel Financial Corp | 120% | 125% | 1.25 |
| [SCHW](https://easycompare.io/research/schw): The Charles Schwab Corporation | 89.0% | 90.0% | 0.91 |
| LAZ: Lazard Inc | 128% | 209% | 1.50 |
| [BX](https://easycompare.io/research/bx): Blackstone Inc. | 156% | 170% | 1.48 |
| EVR: Evercore Inc. | 147% | 162% | 1.58 |
| PJT: PJT Partners Inc. | 111% | 97.0% | 0.91 |
| MC: Moelis & Company | 154% | 196% | 1.58 |
| JEF: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. | 147% | 197% | 1.52 |
| [BAC](https://easycompare.io/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | 127% | 146% | 1.36 |

### What diversifies MS?

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 MS into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+17.8% for MS alone, +18.8% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, GCOW and HDV have moved largely independently of MS over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.49 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- FIX made money in seven of the ten calendar years in which MS lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with MS | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in MS's 10 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.26 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 10 |
| GCOW: Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF | 0.49 | +93.4% | 13.6% | 1.04 | 1 of 10 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.47 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 1 of 10 |
| MLPX: Global X - MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | 0.49 | +135% | 19.7% | 0.97 | 1 of 10 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.07 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 10 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.31 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 5 of 10 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.41 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 2 of 10 |
| EDIV: State Street SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF | 0.47 | +69.9% | 13.8% | 0.84 | 0 of 10 |

## Common questions

### What was MS's worst drawdown?

MS's deepest decline since it began trading in 1993 was 88.2%, from September 2000 to November 2008. It took about 12 years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, MS's best year was 1999, when it returned 103%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -68.9%.

### Is there a better investment than MS?

Among MS's popular alternatives, JPM earned more than MS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 17.3% a year at 24.3% volatility, against 16.0% a year at 28.8%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, RY (banks) and HSBC (banks) earned more than MS with less volatility over the past 5 years. RY returned 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 16.0% a year at 28.8%.

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

Yes. MS's volatility over the past 5 years was 28.8%, 1.7 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, MS's return lands within 28.8% 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 MS's Sharpe ratio?

MS's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.66, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so MS 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 MS with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, MS's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.69 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 MS instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a MS holding.

### What are the best alternatives to MS?

Of the 23 popular alternatives we compared, two outperformed MS in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: IBKR and OPY.

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

MS finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 17 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +45.2%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

MS fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in eight. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when MS fell 43.9% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies MS?

These had a low correlation with MS over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.26), GCOW (correlation 0.49) and HDV (correlation 0.47); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.16), CLS (correlation 0.48) and FIX (correlation 0.35). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ibkr)
- [Goldman Sachs Group (GS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/gs)
- [UBS Group (UBS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ubs)
- [JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm)
- [Citigroup (C) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/c)
- [KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/kkr)
- [CME Group (CME) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cme)
- [BlackRock (BLK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/blk)
- [S&P Global (SPGI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spgi)
- [Charles Schwab (SCHW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schw)
- [Blackstone (BX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bx)
- [Bank of America (BAC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bac)

## Explore further

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