# How Banco Santander (SAN) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/san
> 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 SAN alone. It places SAN (Banco Santander, S.A.) 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 SAN stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: SAN's full trading record, from July 1987 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 3 months, SAN fell 1.4% while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 3 months, BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) rose 3.1% and BAC (Bank of America) fell 15.8%.
- **Stock or market?:** SAN fell 1.4% over the past 3 months, 5.4 points ahead of the banks ETF KBE (State Street SPDR S&P Bank ETF), which fell 6.8%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its bank peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) rose 3.1%, while BAC (Bank of America) fell 15.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** SAN has run far ahead of the market, rising 35.9% over the past year against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (305% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** SAN's 10-year return of 332% puts it ahead of 77% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%. SAN turned $10,000 into $43,200 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, SAN has typically fallen 1.7 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** SAN is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.38 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.39 with the total US market, less closely than 52% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group), SMFG (Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group) and HSBC earned more than SAN with less volatility over the past 5 years. MUFG returned 33.2% a year at 29.4% volatility, against 31.7% a year at 33.9%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** MFG (Mizuho Financial Group, banks) earned more than SAN with less volatility over the past 5 years: 33.6% a year at 30.6% volatility, against 31.7% a year at 33.9%.
  - **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 SAN with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them HSBC, GE (GE Aerospace) and MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in SAN at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $81,349 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 SAN, and BCH finished highest, at $210,582.

## SAN 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.

- SAN's deepest decline since it began trading in 1987 was 78.9%, from May 2008 to September 2020. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, SAN's best was 2025, when it returned 165%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 52.3%. It lost money in 12 of those years.
- SAN is 12.8% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Banks - Diversified)
- Trading since: July 30, 1987
- Market value: $194B
- Volatility (5 years): 33.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.99
- Worst decline ever: −78.9%, from May 15, 2008 to September 23, 2020; back at its high by March 7, 2025

| Period | SAN total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −10.2% |
| 3 months | −1.4% |
| 6 months | +4.5% |
| year to date | +9.8% |
| 1 year | +35.9% |
| 3 years | +305% |
| 5 years | +295% |
| 10 years | +332% |

## SAN against the whole market

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

### How does SAN rank among all stocks?

This section ranks SAN 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), SAN ranks in the top 4% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million.

| Measure | SAN | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +35.9% | 827 of 3,287 (top 26%) |
| 3-year return | +305% | 216 of 3,017 (top 8%) |
| 5-year return | +295% | 176 of 2,893 (top 7%) |
| 10-year return | +332% | 516 of 2,202 (top 24%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 33.9% | 1,049 of 2,893 (top 37%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.99 | 106 of 2,893 (top 4%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −73.8% | 1,419 of 2,187 (top 65%) |

### What has beaten SAN 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 SAN 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 SAN's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 27% less than SAN's 33.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.99 for SAN.
- Among SAN's popular alternatives, HSBC, SMFG and MUFG are in the region. HSBC earned 33.1% a year against 31.7% a year for SAN, at 25.9% volatility, 23% less than SAN's 33.9%.

### Is there a better investment than SAN?

The table below lists investments that beat SAN 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 SAN's popular alternatives, MUFG, SMFG and HSBC earned more than SAN with less volatility over the past 5 years. MUFG returned 33.2% a year at 29.4% volatility, against 31.7% a year at 33.9%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MFG (banks) earned more than SAN with less volatility over the past 5 years: 33.6% a year at 30.6% volatility, against 31.7% a year at 33.9%.
- 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 SAN with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them HSBC, GE and MUFG.

The 10 strongest of 10 investments that beat SAN 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 SAN | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SAN: Banco Santander, S.A. (this page) |  | +31.7% | 33.9% | 0.99 | −73.8% | +332% |  |  |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | Health Care Distribution | +38.7% | 25.0% | 1.44 | −38.1% | +586% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| MOG-A: Moog Inc. | Aerospace & Defense | +36.6% | 32.0% | 1.14 | −63.7% | +595% | 0.33 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MFG](https://easycompare.io/research/mfg): Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.6% | 30.6% | 1.10 | −45.7% | +345% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MUFG](https://easycompare.io/research/mufg): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.2% | 29.4% | 1.13 | −54.9% | +483% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [SMFG](https://easycompare.io/research/smfg): Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.7% | 29.4% | 1.14 | −47.6% | +474% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [TRGP](https://easycompare.io/research/trgp): Targa Resources Corp. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +41.8% | 31.7% | 1.27 | −90.8% | +829% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [IMO](https://easycompare.io/research/imo): Imperial Oil Limited | Integrated Oil & Gas | +34.3% | 32.0% | 1.09 | −77.1% | +430% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [HSBC](https://easycompare.io/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | Banks | +33.1% | 25.9% | 1.24 | −62.3% | +319% | 0.65 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [GE](https://easycompare.io/research/ge): GE Aerospace | Aerospace & Defense | +36.0% | 31.0% | 1.15 | −80.9% | +139% | 0.54 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## SAN against its popular alternatives

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

### How do SAN'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.

- Four of the 24 popular alternatives, led by BBVA, SMFG and MUFG, were both more rewarding and calmer than SAN over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, SAN returned 31.6% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (33.9% against 17.1%).

### Has SAN consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Three of the 25 popular alternatives, MUFG, SMFG and BBVA, outperformed SAN in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- HSBC, BBVA and SMFG earned more for the risk they took than SAN (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 SAN | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SAN: Banco Santander, S.A. (this page) | +35.9% | +305% | +295% | +332% |  |  | 0.99 |
| [MUFG](https://easycompare.io/research/mufg): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | +41.3% | +184% | +319% | +483% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 1.13 |
| [SMFG](https://easycompare.io/research/smfg): Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | +53.5% | +181% | +327% | +474% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 1.14 |
| [BBVA](https://easycompare.io/research/bbva): Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. | +35.2% | +281% | +413% | +542% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 1.16 |
| [MA](https://easycompare.io/research/ma): Mastercard Incorporated | +10.3% | +64.3% | +79.2% | +541% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.61 |
| [V](https://easycompare.io/research/v): Visa Inc. | +19.0% | +78.2% | +82.5% | +429% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.64 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | +13.0% | +150% | +122% | +537% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | −10.6% | +60.7% | +17.2% | +1,002% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.31 |
| [UBS](https://easycompare.io/research/ubs): UBS Group AG | +26.3% | +116% | +210% | +374% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| [HSBC](https://easycompare.io/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | +47.7% | +201% | +318% | +319% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 1.24 |
| [AXP](https://easycompare.io/research/axp): American Express Company | −7.9% | +133% | +88.5% | +446% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| BMA: Banco Macro S.A. | +25.7% | +297% | +360% | +14.9% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.81 |
| [ITUB](https://easycompare.io/research/itub): Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. | +46.3% | +147% | +221% | +190% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.86 |
| [BNS](https://easycompare.io/research/bns): The Bank of Nova Scotia | +50.0% | +162% | +83.1% | +187% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [ING](https://easycompare.io/research/ing): ING Groep N.V. | +42.5% | +209% | +201% | +339% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.87 |
| BSAC: Banco Santander-Chile | +24.0% | +124% | +144% | +154% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| [BBD](https://easycompare.io/research/bbd): Banco Bradesco S.A. | +31.6% | +90.7% | +69.3% | +35.5% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| [BSBR](https://easycompare.io/research/bsbr): Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. | +6.6% | +18.6% | −2.6% | −1.2% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.16 |
| [NU](https://easycompare.io/research/nu): Nu Holdings Ltd. | −2.1% | +84.7% | — | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | +26.0% | +238% | +102% | +234% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| [LYG](https://easycompare.io/research/lyg): Lloyds Banking Group plc | +22.4% | +207% | +152% | +213% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| BCH: Banco de Chile | +25.2% | +138% | +208% | +180% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.94 |
| [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 |
| [BCS](https://easycompare.io/research/bcs): Barclays PLC | +15.1% | +242% | +134% | +238% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [DB](https://easycompare.io/research/db): Deutsche Bank AG | −3.1% | +244% | +171% | +165% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| GGAL: Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. | +14.1% | +254% | +288% | +48.4% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |

### How did SAN do year by year?

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

- SAN finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, MA came out ahead of SAN most often, in 14 of the 19 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, SAN finished in the top quarter in three of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in four. In 2025, it ranked 1 of 26.

| Year | SAN | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +165% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +14.9% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +46.4% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −6.8% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +10.2% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −19.6% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | −2.2% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −28.5% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +33.3% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +12.3% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How SAN 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 SAN's worst declines?

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

- In all three of SAN's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: SAN fell 78.9% from May 2008 to September 2020, while the S&P 500 rose 192%.
- The slowest recovery came after SAN fell 78.9% from May 2008 to September 2020; it did not regain that peak until March 2025, four years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −78.9% | May 15, 2008 | September 23, 2020 | March 7, 2025 | +192% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −63.7% | July 17, 1998 | October 9, 2002 | January 5, 2004 | −30.6% | dot-com bust |
| −49.0% | January 6, 1989 | March 10, 1995 | January 9, 1997 | — |  |
| −25.3% | October 7, 1987 | November 19, 1987 | April 11, 1988 | — |  |
| −24.8% | December 10, 2007 | February 5, 2008 | May 1, 2008 | −11.3% | 2008 financial crisis |

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

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

- SAN fell further than the S&P 500 in seven of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when SAN fell 44.7% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, HSBC held up best, falling less than SAN in all ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | SAN fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −58.4% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −76.1% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.9% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −33.2% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −44.7% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.0% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −19.0% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −48.1% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −41.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −11.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does SAN 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.

- MUFG took just 42% of the S&P 500's losses, against 92% for SAN, while still keeping 84% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, SAN captured 101% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 92% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.02. Its share of the market's gains was slightly larger than its share of the losses.
- Ten of the 24 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than SAN's 1.10, led by BCH, MUFG and SMFG.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SAN: Banco Santander, S.A. (this page) | 101% | 92.0% | 1.02 |
| [MUFG](https://easycompare.io/research/mufg): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | 84.0% | 42.0% | 0.66 |
| [SMFG](https://easycompare.io/research/smfg): Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | 84.0% | 43.0% | 0.65 |
| [BBVA](https://easycompare.io/research/bbva): Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. | 121% | 97.0% | 1.11 |
| [MA](https://easycompare.io/research/ma): Mastercard Incorporated | 105% | 88.0% | 0.95 |
| [V](https://easycompare.io/research/v): Visa Inc. | 93.0% | 79.0% | 0.87 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 117% | 103% | 1.09 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | 135% | 111% | 1.44 |
| [UBS](https://easycompare.io/research/ubs): UBS Group AG | 116% | 120% | 1.18 |
| [HSBC](https://easycompare.io/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | 79.0% | 53.0% | 0.58 |
| [AXP](https://easycompare.io/research/axp): American Express Company | 117% | 113% | 1.16 |
| BMA: Banco Macro S.A. | 113% | 202% | 1.36 |
| [ITUB](https://easycompare.io/research/itub): Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. | 66.0% | 58.0% | 0.65 |
| [BNS](https://easycompare.io/research/bns): The Bank of Nova Scotia | 97.0% | 120% | 1.05 |
| [ING](https://easycompare.io/research/ing): ING Groep N.V. | 136% | 155% | 1.36 |
| BSAC: Banco Santander-Chile | 66.0% | 65.0% | 0.66 |
| [BBD](https://easycompare.io/research/bbd): Banco Bradesco S.A. | 62.0% | 103% | 0.72 |
| [BSBR](https://easycompare.io/research/bsbr): Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. | 56.0% | 102% | 0.74 |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | 131% | 165% | 1.49 |
| [LYG](https://easycompare.io/research/lyg): Lloyds Banking Group plc | 106% | 130% | 1.20 |
| BCH: Banco de Chile | 45.0% | 19.0% | 0.36 |
| [BAC](https://easycompare.io/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | 127% | 146% | 1.36 |
| [BCS](https://easycompare.io/research/bcs): Barclays PLC | 113% | 131% | 1.26 |
| [DB](https://easycompare.io/research/db): Deutsche Bank AG | 102% | 118% | 1.21 |
| GGAL: Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. | 140% | 234% | 1.52 |

### What diversifies SAN?

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 SAN into MCK would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+35.4% for SAN alone, +36.8% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EMLP and SMH have moved largely independently of SAN over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.37 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in eight of the 12 calendar years in which SAN lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with SAN | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in SAN's 12 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.33 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 5 of 12 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.37 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 12 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.25 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 5 of 12 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.25 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 5 of 12 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.32 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 12 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.30 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 5 of 12 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.48 | +109% | 18.4% | 0.90 | 2 of 12 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.33 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 5 of 12 |

## Common questions

### What was SAN's worst drawdown?

SAN's deepest decline since it began trading in 1987 was 78.9%, from May 2008 to September 2020. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, SAN's best year was 2025, when it returned 165%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -52.3%.

### Is there a better investment than SAN?

Among SAN's popular alternatives, MUFG, SMFG and HSBC earned more than SAN with less volatility over the past 5 years. MUFG returned 33.2% a year at 29.4% volatility, against 31.7% a year at 33.9%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MFG (banks) earned more than SAN with less volatility over the past 5 years: 33.6% a year at 30.6% volatility, against 31.7% a year at 33.9%.

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

Yes. SAN's volatility over the past 5 years was 33.9%, 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, SAN's return lands within 33.9% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is SAN's Sharpe ratio?

SAN's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.99, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so SAN 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 SAN with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, SAN's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.38 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 SAN instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a SAN holding.

### What are the best alternatives to SAN?

Of the 25 popular alternatives we compared, three outperformed SAN in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: MUFG, SMFG and BBVA.

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

SAN finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +165%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

SAN fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in seven. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when SAN fell 44.7% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies SAN?

These had a low correlation with SAN over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.33), EMLP (correlation 0.37) and SMH (correlation 0.25); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.17), CLS (correlation 0.16) and FIX (correlation 0.15). 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/san
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against SAN live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=SAN&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research