# How Rio Tinto Group (RIO) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/rio
> 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 RIO alone. It places RIO (Rio Tinto Group) against 19 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 RIO stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: RIO's full trading record, from June 1990 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, RIO fell 9.7% while the S&P 500 rose 9.1%. Its metals & mining peers split over the past 6 months: SCCO (Southern Copper) rose 9.6%, while MP (MP Materials) fell 41.0%.
- **Stock or market?:** RIO rose 1.1% over the past 3 months, 2.2 points behind the metals & mining ETF PICK (iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF), which rose 3.4%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its metals & mining peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: SCCO (Southern Copper) rose 17.6%, while MP (MP Materials) fell 14.6%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** RIO has outpaced the market, rising 30.1% over the past year against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Long term:** RIO turned $10,000 into $56,400 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. Even so, over 5 years RIO trailed the index: 77.9% against 81.7%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, RIO has typically fallen 1.6 times as far as the S&P 500. Even so, in the 2022 bear market, RIO held up better than SCCO (Southern Copper), FCX and VALE; only BHP (BHP Group) fell less.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, RIO has a correlation of 0.34 over 5 years, less closely than 62% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, RIO's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.63: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.0 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 72% as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** CAT (Caterpillar) and BHP (BHP Group) earned more than RIO over the past 5 years with similar volatility: CAT returned 31.1% a year at 31.9% volatility, against 12.2% a year at 29.0%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** GLD (SPDR Gold Shares, gold) and RTX (aerospace & defense) earned more than RIO with less volatility over the past 5 years. GLD returned 17.7% a year at 18.9% volatility, against 12.2% a year at 29.0%.
  - **Whole market:** 227 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than RIO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BRK-B (Berkshire Hathaway), BRK-A (Berkshire Hathaway) and WMT (Walmart).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in RIO at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $271,382 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 RIO, and SCCO finished highest, at $2,677,967.

## RIO 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.

- RIO's deepest decline since it began trading in 1990 was 89.0%, from May to December 2008. It took about 12 years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, RIO's best was 2009, when it returned 195%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 78.5%. It lost money in ten of those years.
- RIO is 19.6% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Materials (Industrial Materials)
- Trading since: June 28, 1990
- Market value: $143B
- Volatility (5 years): 29.0%; Sharpe ratio: 0.54
- Worst decline ever: −89.0%, from May 16, 2008 to December 4, 2008; back at its high by November 24, 2020

| Period | RIO total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −9.2% |
| 3 months | +1.1% |
| 6 months | −9.7% |
| year to date | +10.6% |
| 1 year | +30.1% |
| 3 years | +69.2% |
| 5 years | +77.9% |
| 10 years | +464% |

## RIO against the whole market

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

### How does RIO rank among all stocks?

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

- RIO's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 4% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | RIO | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +30.1% | 973 of 3,287 (top 30%) |
| 3-year return | +69.2% | 1,272 of 3,017 (top 43%) |
| 5-year return | +77.9% | 835 of 2,893 (top 29%) |
| 10-year return | +464% | 334 of 2,202 (top 16%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 29.0% | 639 of 2,893 (top 23%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.54 | 825 of 2,893 (top 29%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −37.5% | 94 of 2,187 (top 5%) |

### What has beaten RIO 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).

- 109 stocks and 118 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than RIO over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 6% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half RIO's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 15% less than RIO's 29.0%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.54 for RIO.
- None of RIO's popular alternatives made it, but IAUM (gold) did: 18.1% a year at 18.8% volatility, 35% less than RIO's 29.0%.

### Is there a better investment than RIO?

The table below lists investments that beat RIO 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 RIO's popular alternatives, CAT and BHP earned more than RIO over the past 5 years with similar volatility: CAT returned 31.1% a year at 31.9% volatility, against 12.2% a year at 29.0%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, GLD (gold) and RTX (aerospace & defense) earned more than RIO with less volatility over the past 5 years. GLD returned 17.7% a year at 18.9% volatility, against 12.2% a year at 29.0%.
- Across the whole market, 227 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than RIO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BRK-B, BRK-A and WMT.

The 15 strongest of 227 investments that beat RIO 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 RIO | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RIO: Rio Tinto Group (this page) |  | +12.2% | 29.0% | 0.54 | −37.5% | +464% |  |  |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +20.8% | 22.6% | 0.96 | −25.7% | +508% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.52 | 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% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [NVS](https://easycompare.io/research/nvs): Novartis AG | Pharmaceuticals | +17.1% | 20.7% | 0.87 | −26.8% | +226% | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [AMGN](https://easycompare.io/research/amgn): Amgen Inc. | Biotechnology | +19.6% | 24.9% | 0.85 | −24.9% | +266% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GILD](https://easycompare.io/research/gild): Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Biotechnology | +22.8% | 24.9% | 0.95 | −30.5% | +200% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [PGR](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +21.3% | 25.6% | 0.89 | −30.3% | +816% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [COR](https://easycompare.io/research/cor): Cencora, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +24.2% | 22.8% | 1.07 | −32.4% | +406% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MNST](https://easycompare.io/research/mnst): Monster Beverage Corporation | Food & Beverages | +17.2% | 24.9% | 0.77 | −30.4% | +285% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [FAST](https://easycompare.io/research/fast): Fastenal Company | Industrial Distribution | +15.8% | 24.6% | 0.72 | −30.7% | +576% | 0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Equity | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.64 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| AVLV: Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +14.0% | 16.9% | 0.86 | −19.5% | — | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| OEF: iShares S&P 100 ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +14.3% | 17.8% | 0.84 | −31.4% | +367% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | Global Equity | +15.7% | 17.2% | 0.94 | −31.4% | +361% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## RIO against its popular alternatives

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

### How do RIO'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 19 popular alternatives earned more than RIO 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, RIO returned 12.2% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (29.0% against 17.1%).

### Has RIO consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Eight of the 19 popular alternatives, led by TGB, STLD and SCCO, outperformed RIO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- TGB, STLD and SCCO outperformed RIO in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of RIO | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RIO: Rio Tinto Group (this page) | +30.1% | +69.2% | +77.9% | +464% |  |  | 0.54 |
| TGB: Trekor Metals Limited | +100% | +616% | +249% | +1,667% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.71 |
| STLD: Steel Dynamics, Inc. | +68.9% | +157% | +304% | +1,018% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.93 |
| [SCCO](https://easycompare.io/research/scco): Southern Copper Corporation | +56.5% | +233% | +301% | +1,017% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.89 |
| [FCX](https://easycompare.io/research/fcx): Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | +64.8% | +111% | +89.6% | +650% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.51 |
| [NUE](https://easycompare.io/research/nue): Nucor Corporation | +93.7% | +92.9% | +167% | +569% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.72 |
| HBM: Hudbay Minerals Inc. | +44.2% | +445% | +221% | +493% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.70 |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | +37.7% | +203% | +288% | +936% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 1.01 |
| [NEM](https://easycompare.io/research/nem): Newmont Corporation | +24.3% | +219% | +135% | +304% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.63 |
| UEC: Uranium Energy Corp. | −48.2% | +47.2% | +96.2% | +746% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.55 |
| CENX: Century Aluminum Company | −2.2% | +452% | +109% | +358% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| [BHP](https://easycompare.io/research/bhp): BHP Group Limited | +50.2% | +71.0% | +115% | +398% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.65 |
| TECK: Teck Resources Limited | +46.2% | +68.6% | +141% | +259% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.61 |
| ERO: Ero Copper Corp. | +45.0% | +138% | +59.8% | — | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| AA: Alcoa Corporation | +5.5% | +75.8% | −18.2% | +115% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.20 |
| MP: MP Materials Corp. | −52.9% | +127% | +7.8% | — | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| CSTM: Constellium SE | +61.5% | +61.7% | +41.9% | +340% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| CLF: Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. | −15.6% | −6.4% | −37.1% | +137% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.14 |
| [VALE](https://easycompare.io/research/vale): Vale S.A. | +23.6% | +37.8% | +42.6% | +334% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| ALB: Albemarle Corporation | +0.8% | −27.6% | −56.7% | +31.3% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.03 |

### How did RIO do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, RIO finished in the top quarter in five of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in two. In 2025, it ranked 14 of 20.
- RIO finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 17 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, ERO came out ahead of RIO most often, in five of the eight years both traded.

| Year | RIO | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +44.5% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −15.4% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +11.1% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +18.4% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | −0.4% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +36.2% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +37.5% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −2.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +44.9% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +39.2% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How RIO 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 RIO's worst declines?

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

- In all five of RIO's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: RIO fell 47.1% from June 1997 to August 1998, while the S&P 500 rose 8.6%.
- The slowest recovery came after RIO fell 89.0% from May to December 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −89.0% | May 16, 2008 | December 4, 2008 | November 24, 2020 | −39.6% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −47.1% | June 24, 1997 | August 31, 1998 | April 29, 1999 | +8.6% |  |
| −39.6% | January 7, 2000 | October 18, 2000 | July 24, 2003 | −7.2% | dot-com bust |
| −35.5% | May 11, 2021 | September 26, 2022 | January 25, 2023 | −10.1% | 2022 bear market |
| −30.7% | November 9, 2007 | January 22, 2008 | April 15, 2008 | −9.5% | 2008 financial crisis |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, NEM held up best, falling less than RIO in six of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- RIO fell less than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when RIO fell 33.9% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | RIO fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −33.9% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −89.0% | −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 | −41.3% | −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 | −5.3% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −13.2% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −30.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −35.3% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does RIO 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, RIO captured 98% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 72% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.63. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- Only NEM had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than RIO's 1.35, out of 17 popular alternatives with the same record.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RIO: Rio Tinto Group (this page) | 98.0% | 72.0% | 0.63 |
| TGB: Trekor Metals Limited | 217% | 214% | 1.89 |
| STLD: Steel Dynamics, Inc. | 150% | 129% | 1.48 |
| [SCCO](https://easycompare.io/research/scco): Southern Copper Corporation | 139% | 103% | 1.13 |
| [FCX](https://easycompare.io/research/fcx): Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | 164% | 181% | 1.74 |
| [NUE](https://easycompare.io/research/nue): Nucor Corporation | 154% | 176% | 1.65 |
| HBM: Hudbay Minerals Inc. | 193% | 234% | 1.95 |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | 148% | 122% | 1.27 |
| [NEM](https://easycompare.io/research/nem): Newmont Corporation | 68.0% | 45.0% | 0.39 |
| UEC: Uranium Energy Corp. | 159% | 153% | 1.80 |
| CENX: Century Aluminum Company | 218% | 296% | 2.41 |
| [BHP](https://easycompare.io/research/bhp): BHP Group Limited | 106% | 97.0% | 0.87 |
| TECK: Teck Resources Limited | 115% | 128% | 1.10 |
| AA: Alcoa Corporation | 187% | 303% | 2.17 |
| CSTM: Constellium SE | 171% | 243% | 2.12 |
| CLF: Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. | 172% | 276% | 2.19 |
| [VALE](https://easycompare.io/research/vale): Vale S.A. | 100% | 88.0% | 0.74 |
| ALB: Albemarle Corporation | 128% | 221% | 1.48 |

### What diversifies RIO?

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 RIO into MCK would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+14.1% for RIO alone, +19.1% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EMLP and HDV have moved largely independently of RIO over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.42 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in seven of the ten calendar years in which RIO lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with RIO | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in RIO's 10 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.30 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 10 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.35 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 10 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.42 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 3 of 10 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.31 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 4 of 10 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.45 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 4 of 10 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.13 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 10 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.30 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 4 of 10 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | 0.43 | +76.6% | 13.7% | 0.90 | 4 of 10 |

## Common questions

### What was RIO's worst drawdown?

RIO's deepest decline since it began trading in 1990 was 89.0%, from May to December 2008. It took about 12 years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, RIO's best year was 2009, when it returned 195%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -78.5%.

### Is there a better investment than RIO?

Among RIO's popular alternatives, CAT and BHP earned more than RIO over the past 5 years with similar volatility: CAT returned 31.1% a year at 31.9% volatility, against 12.2% a year at 29.0%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, GLD (gold) and RTX (aerospace & defense) earned more than RIO with less volatility over the past 5 years. GLD returned 17.7% a year at 18.9% volatility, against 12.2% a year at 29.0%.

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

Yes. RIO's volatility over the past 5 years was 29.0%, 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, RIO's return lands within 29.0% 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 RIO's Sharpe ratio?

RIO's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.54, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so RIO 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 RIO with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, RIO's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.34 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 RIO instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a RIO holding.

### What are the best alternatives to RIO?

Of the 19 popular alternatives we compared, eight outperformed RIO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: TGB, STLD and SCCO.

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

RIO finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 17 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +44.5%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

RIO fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in six of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when RIO fell 33.9% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies RIO?

These had a low correlation with RIO over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.30), EMLP (correlation 0.35) and HDV (correlation 0.42); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.06), CLS (correlation 0.01) and FIX (correlation 0.01). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

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- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)

## Explore further

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