# How RELX compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/relx
> 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 RELX alone. It places RELX (RELX Plc) against 17 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 RELX stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: RELX's full trading record, from October 1994 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** The slide is RELX's own: it is 28.3% below its high, against 1.3% for the S&P 500. On the flip side, over the past 3 months, RELX rose 16.4% against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** RELX held up far better than its industry: it rose 16.4% over the past 3 months while the business services ETF XLI (State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF) fell 6.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. RELX rose 17.9% last month as the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 3.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** RELX has gone against the market, falling 13.9% over the past year while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%. The same gap shows up over 3 years (19.4% against 89.3%). RELX led its business services peers in 2023, then fell behind SPGI (S&P Global) and MCO (Moody's) in 2025.
- **Long term:** RELX turned $10,000 into $26,700 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, RELX held up better than SPGI (S&P Global), MCO and MSCI; only TRI (Thomson Reuters) and EXLS fell less.
- **Diversification:** RELX is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.53 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.52 with the total US market, more closely than 80% of stocks worth at least $300 million. When the S&P 500 had a down month, RELX usually fell with it (17 of 22 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** GOOG (Alphabet) earned more for the risk it took than RELX over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 44.6%, against 49.9% for RELX.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** PPA (Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF, aerospace & defense) and GD (General Dynamics, aerospace & defense) earned more than RELX with less volatility over the past 5 years. PPA returned 16.3% a year at 18.9% volatility, against 7.0% a year at 24.1%.
  - **Whole market:** 492 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than RELX with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI (Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF), VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF) and BRK-B (Berkshire Hathaway).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in RELX at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $66,625 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 RELX, and MCO finished highest, at $677,855.

## RELX 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.

- RELX is still 28.3% below its all-time high.
- RELX's deepest decline since it began trading in 1994 was 57.1%, from July 2007 to March 2009. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, RELX's best was 2013, when it returned 47.2%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 50.7%. It lost money in ten of those years.

- Type: Stock, Industrials (Specialty Business Services)
- Trading since: October 6, 1994
- Market value: $68B
- Volatility (5 years): 24.1%; Sharpe ratio: 0.40
- Worst decline ever: −57.1%, from July 16, 2007 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by July 25, 2013

| Period | RELX total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +17.9% |
| 3 months | +16.4% |
| 6 months | +8.1% |
| year to date | −0.3% |
| 1 year | −13.9% |
| 3 years | +19.4% |
| 5 years | +40.0% |
| 10 years | +167% |

## RELX against the whole market

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

### How does RELX rank among all stocks?

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

- RELX is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 9% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.
- RELX's 1-year return ranks in the bottom 25% of the 3,287 stocks worth at least $300 million with 1 year of history.

| Measure | RELX | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −13.9% | 2,471 of 3,287 (top 76%) |
| 3-year return | +19.4% | 2,032 of 3,017 (top 68%) |
| 5-year return | +40.0% | 1,210 of 2,893 (top 42%) |
| 10-year return | +167% | 1,000 of 2,202 (top 46%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 24.1% | 271 of 2,893 (top 10%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.40 | 1,228 of 2,893 (top 43%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −49.9% | 456 of 2,187 (top 21%) |

### What has beaten RELX 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).

- 71 stocks and 421 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than RELX over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 14% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half RELX's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 21% less than RELX's 24.1%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 0.40 for RELX.
- None of RELX's popular alternatives made it, but PPA (aerospace & defense) did: 16.3% a year at 18.9% volatility, 22% less than RELX's 24.1%.

### Is there a better investment than RELX?

The table below lists investments that beat RELX 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 RELX's popular alternatives, GOOG earned more for the risk it took than RELX over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 44.6%, against 49.9% for RELX.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PPA (aerospace & defense) and GD (aerospace & defense) earned more than RELX with less volatility over the past 5 years. PPA returned 16.3% a year at 18.9% volatility, against 7.0% a year at 24.1%.
- Across the whole market, 492 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than RELX with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI, VOO and BRK-B.

The 15 strongest of 492 investments that beat RELX 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 RELX | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RELX: RELX Plc (this page) |  | +7.0% | 24.1% | 0.40 | −49.9% | +167% |  |  |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VOO](https://easycompare.io/research/voo): Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +12.8% | 16.9% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +324% | 0.53 | 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% | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [JNJ](https://easycompare.io/research/jnj): Johnson & Johnson | Pharmaceuticals | +12.7% | 17.9% | 0.76 | −27.4% | +196% | -0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [V](https://easycompare.io/research/v): Visa Inc. | Payment Processing | +12.8% | 22.9% | 0.64 | −36.4% | +429% | 0.57 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; 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% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +12.1% | 13.7% | 0.90 | −36.8% | +235% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | Banks | +15.8% | 20.0% | 0.84 | −42.0% | +310% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CB](https://easycompare.io/research/cb): Chubb Limited | Property & Casualty Insurance | +15.7% | 20.4% | 0.82 | −42.6% | +248% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [SCHD](https://easycompare.io/research/schd): Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | US Dividend Equity | +9.7% | 14.3% | 0.72 | −33.4% | +252% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [QQQM](https://easycompare.io/research/qqqm): Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF | US Large-Cap Growth | +14.6% | 22.9% | 0.71 | −35.0% | — | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CME](https://easycompare.io/research/cme): CME Group Inc. | Capital Markets | +11.2% | 20.8% | 0.62 | −37.4% | +319% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [RSG](https://easycompare.io/research/rsg): Republic Services, Inc. | Environmental Services | +13.9% | 18.5% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +446% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [SCHG](https://easycompare.io/research/schg): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF | US Large-Cap Growth | +13.1% | 22.4% | 0.67 | −34.5% | +451% | 0.53 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## RELX against its popular alternatives

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

### How do RELX'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 17 popular alternatives earned more than RELX over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 15 of the 17 popular alternatives earned less than RELX over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, RELX returned 7.0% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (24.1% against 17.1%).

### Has RELX consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Two of the 17 popular alternatives, EXLS and CRM, outperformed RELX in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- GOOG earned more for the risk it took than RELX (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of RELX | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RELX: RELX Plc (this page) | −13.9% | +19.4% | +40.0% | +167% |  |  | 0.40 |
| EXLS: ExlService Holdings, Inc. | +0.4% | +52.7% | +65.2% | +327% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.47 |
| [CRM](https://easycompare.io/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | −3.9% | +21.3% | −14.8% | +240% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.12 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | +31.2% | +148% | +138% | +752% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [MSCI](https://easycompare.io/research/msci): MSCI Inc. | +11.8% | +25.5% | +0.5% | +702% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.16 |
| [MCO](https://easycompare.io/research/mco): Moody's Corporation | +1.1% | +57.3% | +33.4% | +383% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.35 |
| [SPGI](https://easycompare.io/research/spgi): S&P Global Inc. | −7.4% | +28.2% | +3.7% | +293% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.16 |
| [TRI](https://easycompare.io/research/tri): Thomson Reuters Corporation | −28.1% | −2.5% | +3.6% | +244% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.17 |
| BR: Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. | −20.2% | +9.7% | +8.7% | +234% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| TRU: TransUnion | −1.7% | +22.2% | −30.6% | +149% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.02 |
| IT: Gartner, Inc. | −8.3% | −37.0% | −30.3% | +152% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.01 |
| [ACN](https://easycompare.io/research/acn): Accenture plc | +2.2% | −13.6% | −23.6% | +146% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.00 |
| FDS: FactSet Research Systems Inc. | +9.5% | −24.7% | −21.8% | +127% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.01 |
| FORR: Forrester Research, Inc. | +37.9% | −55.2% | −76.2% | −66.5% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.45 |
| G: Genpact Limited | −1.0% | +15.5% | −18.1% | +85.4% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.02 |
| VRSK: Verisk Analytics, Inc. | −18.1% | −16.8% | −6.7% | +151% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.08 |
| [ADBE](https://easycompare.io/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | −25.2% | −52.5% | −59.4% | +135% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.28 |
| EFX: Equifax Inc. | −22.7% | +2.6% | −31.9% | +49.9% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.04 |

### How did RELX do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, RELX finished in the top quarter in five of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in nine. In 2025, it ranked 9 of 18.
- RELX finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, BR came out ahead of RELX most often, in 13 of the 18 years both traded.

| Year | RELX | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −9.5% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +16.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +46.1% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −13.0% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +35.4% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +0.3% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +26.2% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −11.2% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +34.9% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +3.2% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How RELX 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 RELX's worst declines?

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

- In all five of RELX's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: RELX fell 50.4% from March 1998 to November 1999, while the S&P 500 rose 37.9%.
- The slowest recovery came after RELX fell 50.4% from March 1998 to November 1999; it did not regain that peak until February 2005, five years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −57.1% | July 16, 2007 | March 9, 2009 | July 25, 2013 | −54.5% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −50.4% | March 2, 1998 | November 17, 1999 | February 25, 2005 | +37.9% |  |
| −49.9% | May 27, 2025 | February 11, 2026 | not yet | +18.1% |  |
| −37.8% | February 18, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | April 12, 2021 | −33.4% | Covid crash |
| −26.2% | December 29, 2021 | September 26, 2022 | March 29, 2023 | −22.8% | 2022 bear market |

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

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

- None of its popular alternatives fell less than RELX in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- RELX fell less than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when RELX fell 33.3% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | RELX fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −33.3% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −57.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −4.4% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −19.2% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −10.0% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −4.7% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −7.9% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −37.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −25.1% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −1.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does RELX 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, RELX captured 61% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 69% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.73. Its share of the market's losses was slightly larger than its share of the gains.
- Four of the 17 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than RELX's 0.88, led by GOOG, MSCI and TRI.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RELX: RELX Plc (this page) | 61.0% | 69.0% | 0.73 |
| EXLS: ExlService Holdings, Inc. | 99.0% | 109% | 0.90 |
| [CRM](https://easycompare.io/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | 115% | 143% | 1.16 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | 132% | 110% | 1.12 |
| [MSCI](https://easycompare.io/research/msci): MSCI Inc. | 131% | 121% | 1.12 |
| [MCO](https://easycompare.io/research/mco): Moody's Corporation | 131% | 151% | 1.26 |
| [SPGI](https://easycompare.io/research/spgi): S&P Global Inc. | 107% | 125% | 1.04 |
| [TRI](https://easycompare.io/research/tri): Thomson Reuters Corporation | 69.0% | 67.0% | 0.63 |
| BR: Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. | 90.0% | 105% | 0.90 |
| TRU: TransUnion | 142% | 228% | 1.47 |
| IT: Gartner, Inc. | 116% | 173% | 1.27 |
| [ACN](https://easycompare.io/research/acn): Accenture plc | 117% | 186% | 1.12 |
| FDS: FactSet Research Systems Inc. | 71.0% | 97.0% | 0.76 |
| FORR: Forrester Research, Inc. | 65.0% | 204% | 1.01 |
| G: Genpact Limited | 90.0% | 146% | 0.99 |
| VRSK: Verisk Analytics, Inc. | 63.0% | 73.0% | 0.73 |
| [ADBE](https://easycompare.io/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | 123% | 184% | 1.24 |
| EFX: Equifax Inc. | 103% | 191% | 1.39 |

### What diversifies RELX?

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 RELX into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+4.6% for RELX alone, +9.2% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and POCT have moved largely independently of RELX over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.49 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in seven of the ten calendar years in which RELX lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with RELX | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in RELX's 10 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.34 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 10 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.13 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 10 |
| POCT: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | 0.49 | +60.9% | 8.0% | 1.23 | 1 of 10 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.37 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 2 of 10 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.33 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 2 of 10 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.23 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 3 of 10 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.44 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 1 of 10 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.15 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 10 |

## Common questions

### What was RELX's worst drawdown?

RELX's deepest decline since it began trading in 1994 was 57.1%, from July 2007 to March 2009. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, RELX's best year was 2013, when it returned 47.2%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -50.7%.

### Is there a better investment than RELX?

Among RELX's popular alternatives, GOOG earned more for the risk it took than RELX over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 44.6%, against 49.9% for RELX. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PPA (aerospace & defense) and GD (aerospace & defense) earned more than RELX with less volatility over the past 5 years. PPA returned 16.3% a year at 18.9% volatility, against 7.0% a year at 24.1%.

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

Yes. RELX's volatility over the past 5 years was 24.1%, 1.4 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, RELX's return lands within 24.1% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is RELX's Sharpe ratio?

RELX's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.40, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so RELX 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 RELX with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, RELX's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.53 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 RELX instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a RELX holding.

### What are the best alternatives to RELX?

Of the 17 popular alternatives we compared, two outperformed RELX in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: EXLS and CRM.

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

RELX finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -9.5%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

RELX fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in five of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in five. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when RELX fell 33.3% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies RELX?

These had a low correlation with RELX over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.34), DXJ (correlation 0.13) and POCT (correlation 0.49); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.10), CLS (correlation 0.23) and FIX (correlation 0.27). 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/relx
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against RELX live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=RELX&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research