# How Ventas (VTR) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/vtr
> 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 VTR alone. It places VTR (Ventas, Inc.) 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 VTR stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: VTR's full trading record, from September 1989 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** VTR has gone against the market, falling 9.6% over the past 3 months while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%.
- **Stock or market?:** Not a move of its own: the healthcare reits ETF VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF) fell 6.4% over the past 3 months, with OHI (Omega Healthcare Investors, down 6.9%) and DOC (Healthpeak Properties, down 14.5%), while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** The past 3 years (ahead of 76% of the stocks worth at least $300 million) have been far stronger than the record over 10 years (behind 62% of them). Over the past year, VTR rose 23.9% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (126% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** VTR turned $10,000 into $19,100 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** VTR fell harder than the S&P 500 in five of seven sell-offs. The late-2018 sell-off was the exception: VTR fell 12.2%, less than the S&P 500's 19.3%.
- **Diversification:** Over 10 years VTR took more of the market's losses than of its gains: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 70% as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.0 times as much, with a beta of 0.96.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** WELL (Welltower) earned more than VTR with less volatility over the past 5 years: 26.0% a year at 23.8% volatility, against 12.4% a year at 25.4%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** ABBV (AbbVie, pharmaceuticals) and NVS (Novartis, pharmaceuticals) earned more than VTR with less volatility over the past 5 years. ABBV returned 26.1% a year at 23.4% volatility, against 12.4% a year at 25.4%.
  - **Whole market:** 130 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VTR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BRK-B (Berkshire Hathaway), WMT (Walmart) and ABBV (AbbVie).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in VTR at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $219,687 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 VTR, and WELL finished highest, at $467,035.

## VTR 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.

- VTR's deepest decline since it began trading in 1989 was 89.5%, from June 1997 to March 2000. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, VTR's best was 2001, when it returned 130%, and its worst was 1999, when it lost 64.1%. It lost money in eight of those years.
- VTR is 13.5% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Real Estate (REIT - Healthcare Facilities)
- Trading since: September 19, 1989
- Market value: $44B
- Volatility (5 years): 25.4%; Sharpe ratio: 0.59
- Worst decline ever: −89.5%, from June 23, 1997 to March 15, 2000; back at its high by July 8, 2003

| Period | VTR total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | 0.0% |
| 3 months | −9.6% |
| 6 months | +3.4% |
| year to date | +13.9% |
| 1 year | +23.9% |
| 3 years | +126% |
| 5 years | +79.3% |
| 10 years | +91.0% |

## VTR against the whole market

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

### How does VTR rank among all stocks?

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

- VTR is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 12% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | VTR | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +23.9% | 1,139 of 3,287 (top 35%) |
| 3-year return | +126% | 732 of 3,017 (top 25%) |
| 5-year return | +79.3% | 820 of 2,893 (top 29%) |
| 10-year return | +91.0% | 1,373 of 2,202 (top 63%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 25.4% | 359 of 2,893 (top 13%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.59 | 702 of 2,893 (top 25%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −76.9% | 1,523 of 2,187 (top 70%) |

### What has beaten VTR 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).

- 44 stocks and 86 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than VTR over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 4% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half VTR's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 25% less than VTR's 25.4%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 0.59 for VTR.
- Among VTR's popular alternatives, WELL is in the region. WELL earned 26.0% a year against 12.4% a year for VTR, at 23.8% volatility, 6% less than VTR's 25.4%.

### Is there a better investment than VTR?

The table below lists investments that beat VTR 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 VTR's popular alternatives, WELL earned more than VTR with less volatility over the past 5 years: 26.0% a year at 23.8% volatility, against 12.4% a year at 25.4%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ABBV (pharmaceuticals) and NVS (pharmaceuticals) earned more than VTR with less volatility over the past 5 years. ABBV returned 26.1% a year at 23.4% volatility, against 12.4% a year at 25.4%.
- Across the whole market, 130 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VTR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BRK-B, WMT and ABBV.

The 15 strongest of 130 investments that beat VTR 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 VTR | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VTR: Ventas, Inc. (this page) |  | +12.4% | 25.4% | 0.59 | −76.9% | +91.0% |  |  |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Food & Beverages | +14.7% | 16.8% | 0.91 | −37.0% | +204% | 0.52 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [RSG](https://easycompare.io/research/rsg): Republic Services, Inc. | Environmental Services | +13.9% | 18.5% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +446% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CCEP](https://easycompare.io/research/ccep): Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC | Food & Beverages | +19.7% | 23.2% | 0.90 | −48.8% | +292% | 0.53 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [BRK-B](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-b): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.4% | 17.1% | 0.82 | −29.6% | +274% | 0.55 | 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% | 0.28 | 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% | 0.64 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [QQQ](https://easycompare.io/research/qqq): Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | US Large-Cap Growth | +14.5% | 23.0% | 0.71 | −35.1% | +553% | 0.24 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [PM](https://easycompare.io/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | Tobacco | +21.0% | 23.4% | 0.94 | −42.9% | +242% | 0.48 | 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% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [BTI](https://easycompare.io/research/bti): British American Tobacco p.l.c. | Tobacco | +18.7% | 22.0% | 0.90 | −56.1% | +98.2% | 0.35 | 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% | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MO](https://easycompare.io/research/mo): Altria Group, Inc. | Tobacco | +17.8% | 21.4% | 0.88 | −53.7% | +140% | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CM](https://easycompare.io/research/cm): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | Banks | +19.2% | 21.6% | 0.93 | −47.3% | +395% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [TRV](https://easycompare.io/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +22.4% | 22.3% | 1.02 | −46.3% | +347% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## VTR against its popular alternatives

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

### How do VTR'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.

- WELL, CTRE and OHI were both more rewarding and calmer than VTR over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, VTR returned 12.4% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (25.4% against 17.1%).

### Has VTR consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- WELL outperformed VTR in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- Two of the 17 popular alternatives, WELL and DHC, outperformed VTR in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- WELL, ENSG and CTRE earned more for the risk they took than VTR (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 VTR | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VTR: Ventas, Inc. (this page) | +23.9% | +126% | +79.3% | +91.0% |  |  | 0.59 |
| [WELL](https://easycompare.io/research/well): Welltower Inc. | +36.0% | +201% | +217% | +379% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.09 |
| DHC: Diversified Healthcare Trust | +86.5% | +349% | +121% | −48.0% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.56 |
| ENSG: The Ensign Group, Inc. | −4.9% | +84.1% | +147% | +896% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.81 |
| [HCA](https://easycompare.io/research/hca): HCA Healthcare, Inc. | +8.3% | +97.6% | +93.6% | +513% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| OHI: Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. | +17.7% | +69.7% | +114% | +202% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| CTRE: CareTrust REIT, Inc. | +7.8% | +91.7% | +117% | +310% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| SBRA: Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. | +11.9% | +70.8% | +86.7% | +75.9% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.60 |
| BKD: Brookdale Senior Living Inc. | +14.8% | +166% | +50.1% | −36.8% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| AHR: American Healthcare REIT, Inc. | +27.9% | — | — | — | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| LTC: LTC Properties, Inc. | +28.1% | +64.3% | +71.1% | +51.7% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.62 |
| DOC: Healthpeak Properties, Inc. | +7.0% | +39.4% | −21.6% | +12.4% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.05 |
| NHI: National Health Investors, Inc. | −8.4% | +57.7% | +54.0% | +51.5% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.48 |
| HR: Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated | −1.0% | +49.7% | −10.6% | +27.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| CHCT: Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated | +5.4% | −37.6% | −58.5% | +7.7% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.47 |
| UHT: Universal Health Realty Income Trust | +11.9% | +25.3% | −9.9% | +5.0% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.04 |
| ARE: Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. | −41.1% | −47.3% | −73.9% | −41.9% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.60 |
| VICI: VICI Properties Inc. | −19.9% | +1.4% | +1.9% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |

### How did VTR do year by year?

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

- VTR finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 18 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, CTRE came out ahead of VTR most often, in eight of the 11 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, VTR finished in the top quarter in six of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in four. In 2025, it ranked 7 of 18.

| Year | VTR | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +35.1% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +22.2% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +15.1% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −8.6% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +7.7% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −9.8% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +3.4% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +3.5% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +0.7% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +16.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How VTR 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 VTR's worst declines?

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

- In all four of VTR's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: VTR fell 89.5% from June 1997 to March 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 65.0%.
- The slowest recovery came after VTR fell 76.9% from October 2019 to March 2020; it did not regain that peak until August 2024, four years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −89.5% | June 23, 1997 | March 15, 2000 | July 8, 2003 | +65.0% | dot-com bust |
| −76.9% | October 4, 2019 | March 18, 2020 | August 28, 2024 | −18.1% | Covid crash |
| −64.1% | September 19, 2008 | December 1, 2008 | March 11, 2010 | −33.9% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −49.0% | January 9, 1992 | September 15, 1993 | August 1, 1994 | — |  |
| −36.1% | March 4, 1996 | July 22, 1996 | April 30, 1997 | −1.7% |  |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, VICI held up best, falling less than VTR in four of the five crashes they both traded through.
- VTR fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when VTR fell 73.1% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

| Crash | Dates | VTR fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −24.1% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −64.1% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.8% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −20.8% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −17.3% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.3% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −12.2% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −73.1% | −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 | −6.9% | −3.4% |

### How closely does VTR 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.

- ENSG took just 55% of the S&P 500's losses, against 98% for VTR, while still keeping 105% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, VTR captured 70% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 98% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.96. Its share of the market's losses was larger than its share of the gains.
- Five of the 15 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than VTR's 0.72, led by ENSG, WELL and OHI.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VTR: Ventas, Inc. (this page) | 70.0% | 98.0% | 0.96 |
| [WELL](https://easycompare.io/research/well): Welltower Inc. | 87.0% | 72.0% | 0.90 |
| DHC: Diversified Healthcare Trust | 94.0% | 223% | 1.84 |
| ENSG: The Ensign Group, Inc. | 105% | 55.0% | 0.83 |
| [HCA](https://easycompare.io/research/hca): HCA Healthcare, Inc. | 135% | 140% | 1.37 |
| OHI: Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. | 70.0% | 67.0% | 0.77 |
| CTRE: CareTrust REIT, Inc. | 93.0% | 90.0% | 0.91 |
| SBRA: Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. | 76.0% | 111% | 1.05 |
| BKD: Brookdale Senior Living Inc. | 40.0% | 111% | 1.15 |
| LTC: LTC Properties, Inc. | 48.0% | 68.0% | 0.75 |
| DOC: Healthpeak Properties, Inc. | 61.0% | 110% | 0.88 |
| NHI: National Health Investors, Inc. | 60.0% | 92.0% | 0.71 |
| HR: Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated | 59.0% | 104% | 0.80 |
| CHCT: Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated | 47.0% | 79.0% | 0.61 |
| UHT: Universal Health Realty Income Trust | 63.0% | 123% | 0.80 |
| ARE: Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. | 58.0% | 145% | 0.97 |

### What diversifies VTR?

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 VTR into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 17% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+12.7% for VTR alone, +16.1% for the mix).
- CAH made money in six of the eight calendar years in which VTR lost money.
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, MLPX and SMH have moved largely independently of VTR over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.47 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with VTR | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in VTR's 8 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.28 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 8 |
| MLPX: Global X - MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | 0.47 | +135% | 19.7% | 0.97 | 1 of 8 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.19 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 8 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.32 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 2 of 8 |
| DIVO: Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF | 0.47 | +69.0% | 11.9% | 0.95 | 1 of 8 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.22 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 8 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.26 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 3 of 8 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.40 | +109% | 18.4% | 0.90 | 0 of 8 |

## Common questions

### What was VTR's worst drawdown?

VTR's deepest decline since it began trading in 1989 was 89.5%, from June 1997 to March 2000. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, VTR's best year was 2001, when it returned 130%. Its worst was 1999, with a return of -64.1%.

### Is there a better investment than VTR?

Among VTR's popular alternatives, WELL earned more than VTR with less volatility over the past 5 years: 26.0% a year at 23.8% volatility, against 12.4% a year at 25.4%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ABBV (pharmaceuticals) and NVS (pharmaceuticals) earned more than VTR with less volatility over the past 5 years. ABBV returned 26.1% a year at 23.4% volatility, against 12.4% a year at 25.4%.

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

Yes. VTR's volatility over the past 5 years was 25.4%, 1.5 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, VTR's return lands within 25.4% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is VTR's Sharpe ratio?

VTR's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.59, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so VTR 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 VTR with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, VTR's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.41 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 VTR instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a VTR holding.

### What are the best alternatives to VTR?

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

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

VTR finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 18 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +35.1%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

VTR fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when VTR fell 73.1% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

### What diversifies VTR?

These had a low correlation with VTR over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.28), MLPX (correlation 0.47) and SMH (correlation 0.19); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.25), CLS (correlation 0.06) and FIX (correlation 0.07). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Welltower (WELL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/well)
- [HCA Healthcare (HCA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hca)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vti)
- [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/tsm)
- [Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spcx)
- [Meta Platforms (META) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/meta)

## Explore further

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